AFSA informs about its plans to undertake reviews of important regulatory frameworks throughout 2025.

AFSA continues its work on enhancing the securitisation[1] framework, building on the proposed amendments initiated last year, which require further review. The proposed changes relate to the structuring and operation of “orphan” Special Purpose Companies (SPCs)[2], the pool of beneficiaries and the administration of SPCs.

AFSA is currently developing proposals within its review of frameworks in the capital markets, digital assets, and crowdfunding sectors, with public consultations expected to commence in mid-2025:

• Capital markets. The focus is on reviewing the regulation related to the offering, listing and trading of securities, while also considering additional amendments to improve access for market participants.
• Digital assets. Further enhancements to the digital assets regulatory framework are being considered, drawing on feedback and regulatory experience since the framework’s introduction in 2024.
• Revising the crowdfunding regulatory framework to strengthen investor protection through enhanced disclosure requirements on default histories and other improvements.

Later in the year, AFSA also anticipates commencing work on additional framework revisions in the fund management, Islamic finance, and insurance sectors. Further details will be communicated as the projects advance.

Stakeholders wishing to contribute early proposals in advance of public consultation within the above frameworks are encouraged to send them to [email protected]. AFSA will take these contributions into account during the drafting process.

AFSA notes that these projects represent our current regulatory agenda, reflecting initial plans and tentative scope, which may be subject to revision as we progress through the year.

Reference:

The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) is the independent regulator of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), which is established in accordance with the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On the Astana International Financial Centre” for the purposes of regulating financial services and related activities in the AIFC. AFSA administers the AIFC Regulations and Rules and is responsible for the authorisation, registration, recognition and supervision of financial firms and market institutions in the AIFC.

Over 3,800 firms from 85 countries are registered in the AIFC. These firms provide banking, insurance, investment, professional and other services. The range of financial services offered at the AIFC is comparable to the list of services available in long-established financial centers of the world, such as London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and others. www.afsa.kz

The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) is an independent jurisdiction with a favourable legal and regulatory environment and a developed infrastructure for starting and doing business, attracting investment, creating jobs and developing Kazakhstan’s economy. https://aifc.kz/ 

Contact information:

Public Relations and Communications Division of AFSA: +7 (717) 264 73 43; +7 7172 61-37-45 email: [email protected]

[1] The securitisation is a structured finance transaction whereby banks and other credit institutions package loans into securities.

[2] In general, a Special Purpose Company (SPC) is a legal entity that is created by a parent company (Initiator/originator) for a limited purpose: often to be a participant in a securitisation transaction with a pre-arranged counterparty. Depending on the Initiator/originator’s purposes, the ownership of an SPC could be structured through a direct shareholding, where shares of the SPC are held by its parent company directly, so the SPC will be a wholly owned subsidiary of a parent company; or an “orphan”, where the SPC is owned by an unconnected third party that has control over the SPC, so the SPC is legally separated from its originator.

Astana —The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) hosted a panel discussion on “Mobilizing Finance for Sustainable Infrastructure” on April 29 at the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) as part of a series of lead-up events for the tenth Annual Meeting of the AIIB Board of Governors, to be held on June 24-26, 2025 in Beijing.

The discussion, led by AIIB in collaboration with Kazakhstan’s Ministry of National Economy and Ministry of Transport and key financial market participants, focused on enhancing investment in resilient infrastructure and green projects within Kazakhstan. It explored how AIIB can strengthen its presence and investment activities in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, especially by helping attract private capital into sustainable infrastructure projects.

Speakers and panelists highlighted how AIIB and other multilateral development banks, commercial banks and asset managers can work together to foster sustainable and inclusive growth through infrastructure and green financing. These partnerships bring in both expertise and financing, ensuring projects are not only economically viable but also aligned with broader sustainability goals. Another focus of the event was the ESG standards and how they are becoming essential for responsible investment in infrastructure.

The opening remarks were delivered by Mr. Konstantin Limitovskiy (AIIB), Mr. Satzhan Ablaliyev, (Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan) and Ms. Evgenia Bogdanova (AFSA). Key participants of the event included Ms. Saadat Asanseitova, Director of International Economic Cooperation at the Kazakhstan Ministry of National Economy; Ms. Zamira Sundetova, CEO of Skybridge Invest; Mr. Wang Xianming, Senior Executive Officer of China Construction Bank, AIFC branch; and other senior representatives.

“As a multilateral development bank, AIIB is uniquely positioned to help bridge the gap between public sector priorities and private sector expertise in Kazakhstan. This approach enables us to drive infrastructure investments that are critical for the country’s sustainable economic growth,” said Konstantin Limitovskiy, AIIB Chief Investment Officer, Public Sector (Region 2) & Project and Corporate Finance (Global) Clients. “Kazakhstan is already accelerating infrastructure and green investments, supported by proactive government policies and a dynamic private sector.”

“The Government of Kazakhstan has made sustainable infrastructure and clean energy central pillars of our national development strategy,” said Satzhan Ablaliyev, Vice Minister of Transport. “We greatly value AIIB’s continued support in mobilizing the capital and expertise needed to realize this vision.”

“Infrastructure isn’t just about building; it’s about enabling opportunity. The infrastructure of the future must be adaptable and offer long-term value, requiring innovative financing and conditions that reward sustainability. At AFSA, we are committed to enabling this transition. Our regulatory framework is designed to support a stable, transparent, and innovative financial environment. We recognize that responsible finance and investor confidence go hand in hand. That is why we continue to strengthen our supervisory approach, enhance market integrity, and create space for new financial products—particularly those linked to sustainability and climate resilience,” said Evgeniya Bogdanova, AFSA Chief Executive Officer.

As a founding member of AIIB, Kazakhstan played an important role in the Bank’s establishment, including hosting the Chief Negotiators’ Meeting in Almaty in March 2015. To date, AIIB has seven projects in Kazakhstan with a total value of over USD2 billion. Its projects are in various sectors, including transport, energy and healthcare. Key projects include helping finance the Zhanatas 100MW, Shokpar 100MW and 220MW Akmolar wind power plants, and the reconstruction of M-32 Highway (Aktobe-Karabutak-Ulgaisyn Section) as well as the Jezkazgan-Karagandy section of Trans-Caspian international transport route.

The AIIB Tenth Annual Meeting will take place on June 24-26, 2025, in Beijing under a theme “Connecting for Development, Collaborating for Prosperity”. For more details and registration information, visit https://2025am.aiib.org.

For reference:

About AIIB 

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is a multilateral development bank dedicated to financing “infrastructure for tomorrow,” with sustainability at its core. AIIB began operations in 2016, now has 110 approved members worldwide, is capitalized at USD100 billion, and is AAA-rated by major international credit rating agencies. AIIB collaborates with partners to mobilize capital and invest in infrastructure and other productive sectors that foster sustainable economic development and enhance regional connectivity. 

About AFSA

The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) is the independent regulator of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), which is established in accordance with the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On the Astana International Financial Centre” for the purposes of regulating financial services and related activities in the AIFC. AFSA administers the AIFC Regulations and Rules and is responsible for the authorisation, registration, recognition and supervision of financial firms and market institutions in the AIFC.

Over 3,800 firms from 85 countries are registered in the AIFC. These firms provide banking, insurance, investment, professional and other services. The range of financial services offered at the AIFC is comparable to the list of services available in long-established financial centers of the world, such as London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and others. www.afsa.kz

About AIFC

The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) is an independent jurisdiction with a favourable legal and regulatory environment and a developed infrastructure for starting and doing business, attracting investment, creating jobs and developing Kazakhstan’s economy. https://aifc.kz/ 

The Astana Financial Services Authority (“AFSA”) wishes to alert members of the financial services community and the public to the misleading use of AFSA’s name.

AFSA has identified a group of social media accounts under the names:

• Instagram account “p2pcrypto_exchange”;
• Telegram channel “P2P CRYPTO Криптообменник”, and,
• Telegram account “p2pcrypto_manager”

that are falsely representing themselves as the AFSA authorised entities providing cryptocurrency exchange services.

We would like to inform you that no entity under the names of “p2pcrypto_exchange”, “P2P CRYPTO Криптообменник”, and “p2pcrypto_manager” or similar names are, or have ever been, registered in the AIFC or licensed by AFSA. Therefore, the activities of these social media accounts display characteristics of criminal offenses, potentially falling under Fraud (Article 190) and Illegal Business Activity (Article 214) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

AFSA urges the public to consult its Public Register, which provides up-to-date information about entities registered in the AIFC and firms authorised by AFSA. Verifying a firm’s authorisation before using any financial services or products is essential to minimising risks, ensuring your security and compliance.

AFSA strongly advises against engaging with individuals claiming to represent these social media accounts, and under no circumstances should you enter into any contractual relationships with, or transfer funds to, any parties associated with it.

If you have any concerns about the authenticity of any correspondence or suspect that you have been contacted by someone involved in a scam, we suggest that you address your concerns directly to AFSA. You can do this by using the online form available on our website.

Reference:

The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) is the independent regulator of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), which is established in accordance with the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On the Astana International Financial Centre” for the purposes of regulating financial services and related activities in the AIFC. AFSA administers the AIFC Regulations and Rules and is responsible for the authorisation, registration, recognition and supervision of financial firms and market institutions in the AIFC.

Over 3,800 firms from 85 countries are registered in the AIFC. These firms provide banking, insurance, investment, professional and other services. The range of financial services offered at the AIFC is comparable to the list of services available in long-established financial centers of the world, such as London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and others. www.afsa.kz

The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) is an independent jurisdiction with a favourable legal and regulatory environment and a developed infrastructure for starting and doing business, attracting investment, creating jobs and developing Kazakhstan’s economy. https://aifc.kz/ 

Contact information:

Public Relations and Communications Division of AFSA: +7 (717) 264 73 43; +7 7172 61-37-45 email: [email protected]

The Astana Financial Services Authority (“AFSA”) issues this alert concerning the alleged fraudulent activities of an individual presenting himself as Nurlan Asilbekov.

It has come to AFSA’s attention that this individual is allegedly promoting financial services via a private Telegram channel using a forged version of a licence (No. AFSA-G-LA-2023-0004) issued to Bybit Limited by AFSA on 07 June 2023 to conduct the following Market Activity: Operator of a Digital Asset Trading Facility.

The forged licence contains the alleged name of the individual, which is NOT present on authentic AFSA Licences. AFSA does NOT grant Licences to natural persons – it only grants Licences to legal entities.

AFSA warns the public to exercise utmost caution in dealing with entities claiming to provide financial services on the basis of an AFSA licence, and encourages the public to check the Public Register which contains business information on companies authorised and/or registered by AFSA. This is a crucial step to verify that a firm is properly authorised before engaging with any of its financial services or products.

Bybit Limited offers the following tool on its website that allows users to check the authenticity of Bybit sources: Bybit Authenticity Check.

Members of the public who deal with unauthorised persons do so at their own risk and may not be protected under the legal and regulatory framework of the Astana International Financial Centre.

Reference:

The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) is the independent regulator of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), which is established in accordance with the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On the Astana International Financial Centre” for the purposes of regulating financial services and related activities in the AIFC. AFSA administers the AIFC Regulations and Rules and is responsible for the authorisation, registration, recognition and supervision of financial firms and market institutions in the AIFC.

Over 3,800 firms from 85 countries are registered in the AIFC. These firms provide banking, insurance, investment, professional and other services. The range of financial services offered at the AIFC is comparable to the list of services available in long-established financial centers of the world, such as London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and others. www.afsa.kz

The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) is an independent jurisdiction with a favourable legal and regulatory environment and a developed infrastructure for starting and doing business, attracting investment, creating jobs and developing Kazakhstan’s economy. https://aifc.kz/ 

Contact information:

Public Relations and Communications Division of AFSA: +7 (717) 264 73 43; +7 7172 61-37-45 email: [email protected]