Kazakhstan Passes Law to Monitor Crypto Services for Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing

Companies working with digital assets in Kazakhstan could soon be subject to anti-money laundering (AML) regulation, according to a new law passed by the national parliament today, news agency Sputnik wrote Friday. The country’s president has yet to sign the document into law, however.

Companies issuing digital assets or providing fiat on-ramps and crypto trading services would have to notify Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry when they launch their services or shut them down, Sputnik said.

The agency quoted parliament member Olga Perepechina, who said that the lack of such monitoring has led to a rise in money laundering and terrorism financed using digital assets.

Kazakhstan is a popular location for cryptocurrency mining, as being next door to China has made it a place of relocation for some Chinese miners that fled China due to the latest anti-crypto crackdown there.