Astana investigators drop case against former employee of Kazakhstani broker
The Astana Department of Economic Investigations (DEI) has closed the criminal case against Temirlan Bekov, a former employee of Freedom Finance JSC, who was accused of fraud. The pretrial investigation was initiated at the request of one of the broker’s clients. Investigators ultimately found no elements of a crime in Bekov’s actions, a conclusion later confirmed by Astana prosecutors. This case had become a key element in the information campaign launched against Freedom Finance JSC. The company has stated that it is preparing legal materials to defend its business reputation.
The investigation against Bekov began in October 2024, following a complaint from Karlygash Kaparova, a retired woman who claimed that Bekov had stolen money she invested in the stock market. During the investigation, law enforcement determined that Kaparova had voluntarily given Bekov access to her personal account in the company’s trading system. The two had agreed that Bekov would manage her investments and receive a 20% commission from any profitable transactions. Additionally, Kaparova paid $3,900 for his «services.» These arrangements were made in violation of the company’s rules, which strictly prohibit granting account access to third parties, including employees. At the time, Bekov had already resigned from the company — a fact Kaparova knew about.
Bekov managed Kaparova’s account from November 2019 to September 2023. Kaparova personally confirmed each transaction by providing verification codes received via SMS to her stock market consultant. Some of these transactions were profitable; others were not. In total, Kaparova invested over $380,000 in the stock market. Eventually, she suffered substantial losses due to unsuccessful investments made by Bekov. However, the police failed to identify any «malicious intent» in Bekov’s actions, as all transactions were indeed carried out on the stock market, which is inherently a risky enterprise, while the defendant did not take Kaparova’s money but invested it in securities. To verify this, experts from the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market were consulted, and they found no violations of stock exchange procedures.
Sources familiar with the matter told Kursiv.media that the case against Temirlan Bekov had been officially closed. However, at the time of publication, the Astana DEI had not responded to Kursiv’s request for comment. Industry experts have repeatedly emphasized that unsuccessful investments alone cannot serve as grounds for criminal prosecution. Typically, all licensed brokers inform clients about potential risks.
This litigation unfolded amid an aggressive media campaign, reportedly driven by Zhanna Kaparova, daughter of Karlygash Kaparova, who publicly accused Freedom Finance JSC and its management of losing her mother’s money. However, during one of several press conferences, she acknowledged that her mother had voluntarily transferred the funds to Bekov and was aware of his dismissal from the company.
In April, after more than a dozen negative articles about Freedom Finance JSC appeared in a single media outlet in a single day, the company issued an official statement. It dismissed allegations such as Freedom «not being present on the U.S. stock market» and «operating fraudulent schemes» as manipulation and part of a coordinated PR attack, allegedly prompted by the company’s refusal to enter into an illegal out-of-court settlement of the case.
«Shortly before this wave of negative media coverage, the company received offers from individuals to ‘settle the situation’ in exchange for large sums of money, supposedly to avoid further negative publicity. Freedom Finance declined, considering these offers to be blackmail and an attempt at corporate coercion. That refusal was quickly followed by a barrage of coordinated publications, including 12 articles released by the KazTAG agency within two days,» the company stated. In total, since late March, the agency has published nearly one hundred pieces targeting the brokerage and its shareholders.
According to Alexander Kamendrovsky, a lawyer for Freedom Finance JSC, he had not yet seen official documents confirming the case against Bekov had been dropped. He also emphasized that the company is not a party to the litigation, though it became entangled due to the information campaign stemming from the actions of Bekov.
«The investigation began late last year, and after a thorough review by various experts, it was established that no crime had occurred. We welcome the professionalism of DEI investigators and Astana prosecutors who brought clarity to this case,» Kamendrovsky said.
Meanwhile, Freedom Finance plans to defend its business reputation through legal channels against those involved in the media attacks. As Kamendrovsky noted, individuals and media outlets that make accusations without a court ruling violate the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
