Armenia detains fraud suspects for scamming Kazakhstanis

More than 40 employees of two call centers suspected of internet fraud have been detained in Armenia, according to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs. The suspects allegedly targeted Kazakhstani citizens, among others, prompting Kazakhstani police to participate in the operation to pursue and apprehend them.

«The organizers and members of a transnational criminal group engaged in internet fraud against citizens of Kazakhstan and European countries have been identified and detained. They lured victims by offering investments in supposedly large investment companies,» the ministry said.

In total, police detained 41 people, who are citizens of Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Syria and Lebanon. Authorities seized five cars, $30,000 in cash, Russian rubles, Georgian lari and a cold wallet (a device that stores digital currency access keys) containing cryptocurrency.

The Armenian Investigative Committee, in cooperation with Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, is working to determine the full extent of the fraud and assess the financial damage to Kazakhstani victims.

Since 2018, Kazakhstan has seen a 26-fold increase in online transactions, reaching approximately $240 billion. At the same time, cases of online fraud have surged 42-fold, from 517 incidents to 21,880.