According to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Kazakhstan, individuals who hand over their bank cards to fraudsters may face the blocking of all their bank accounts, followed by criminal prosecution for acting as so-called «money mules.» The agency reports that thousands of people in Kazakhstan may be involved in such financial crimes.
So far, the Prosecutor General’s Office has identified more than 50,000 individuals in the country involved in online fraud and drug trafficking. Over 6,000 of them are so-called money mules, whose identities have already been established by law enforcement. Officials believe the actual number may be significantly higher.
In the context of financial fraud, a money mule is commonly defined as a person whose bank card or account is used to cash out stolen money. Typically, when a fraudster convinces a victim to transfer funds, they provide the money mule’s account, not their own. This tactic helps perpetrators evade law enforcement, and often succeeds. Becoming a money mule is alarmingly easy: some individuals do it for profit, while others may take part unwittingly. Either way, it constitutes a crime, and the government intends to pursue it aggressively, prosecutors said.
The Senate, the upper house of Kazakhstan’s parliament, is currently reviewing a bill that would introduce criminal liability for transferring bank cards to third parties for payment.
Possible penalties for money mules include:
- Blocking of all bank accounts associated with fraudulent activity;
- Inclusion in a registry of suspicious individuals and restrictions on access to financial services;
- Criminal prosecution, with potential imprisonment of up to seven years.
These penalties may also apply to foreign nationals who allow their bank accounts to be used in fraudulent schemes.
Authorities urge anyone who may have unknowingly handed over their account or card to immediately contact their bank or block the card through the bank’s mobile app.
Under Kazakhstan’s Criminal Code, individuals who participated in illegal activity but voluntarily report it to law enforcement and assist in the investigation may be exempt from criminal liability. Earlier this year, Speaker of the Mazhilis (the lower house of parliament) Yerlan Koshanov reported that 6,200 cards linked to bank drops were identified in 2024. Using those cards, perpetrators laundered an estimated $46.2 million.
