According to Freedom Holding Corp. CEO and majority shareholder Timur Turlov, the company is exploring entering the Turkish market. During a media briefing in Almaty, he said Turkey is a logical next step for the company’s development, though no deals have been signed yet.
«I don’t want to spoil the deal or make any announcements before a deal is finalized. We haven’t signed any agreements yet, but overall, we are definitely interested in regional expansion,» Turlov said.
No major acquisitions planned
As Turlov noted, Freedom has no intention of making any significant acquisitions in Turkey. The company is more inclined to obtain a license rather than acquire a large financial institution.
«This is an attempt to obtain a license rather than acquire a major institution. I think, in this regard, our approach is quite similar to that of our competitors,» Turlov emphasized, referring to the acquisition of Turkey’s Rabobank by Kazakhstan’s Kaspi.kz.
What kind of assets is Freedom interested in?
Although the businessman did not name a bank Freedom Holding is interested in, Bloomberg suggested — citing its sources — that it could be TurkishBank AS.
Established in 1982, when Cyprus-based TürkBankası opened a subsidiary in Istanbul, the bank gained independent status in December 1991, when it ceased to be classified as a foreign bank. It is currently controlled by TurkishBank Group.
TurkishBank’s core business includes corporate, commercial, retail and private banking, as well as project finance and fund management. In addition to banking services, the group also provides agency services on behalf of Turkish Securities through its branch network.
According to the Banks Association of Turkey, TurkishBank operates six branches, manages €132 million in assets and reports zero net profit.
For comparison, the assets of Rabobank, which Kaspi.kz plans to acquire, were valued at €45 million as of Sept. 30, 2025. The bank has only one branch, three times fewer employees and yet reported €6 million in net profit.
Freedom’s expansion in the CIS continues
According to Turlov, Freedom closes about a dozen deals annually, even though the company is not aggressively seeking them. Most of the projects launched earlier continue to grow.
For example, the group has recently received permission to open a bank in Georgia.
«I am confident that this is not the last deal we will make in the post-Soviet space,» the Freedom Holding CEO said.
Freedom’s technologies as an export product
Turlov believes technology remains the company’s key competitive advantage. Freedom aims to redesign its processes and online solutions to make them exportable to other markets.
«I am hopeful that our technology will become something we actively export. This is going to be our strength,» he underscored.
The holding’s strategic goal is to create a regional network of digital banks operating on a single technological foundation. As a result, Freedom hopes to unite national payment systems in Central Asia and become the region’s «main interconnector.»
«We want to give people the ability to transfer money to each other throughout the Turkic world without relying on Western infrastructure, Russian infrastructure or any other external infrastructure,» Turlov stated.
Freedom Holding Corp. is a leading brokerage and investment holding company in Central Asia and Eastern Europe, led by Timur Turlov, the company’s CEO and majority shareholder.
In Kazakhstan, the holding offers brokerage services under the brands Freedom Broker (Freedom Finance JSC, a KASE member) and Freedom Finance Global (an AIX member). Other Freedom Holding Corp. subsidiaries operating in the country include Freedom Bank, Freedom Insurance and Freedom Life.
