Journalists previously reported statements from victims regarding the conduct of top managers at Freedom Holding Corp., where the main shareholder is businessman Timur Turlov, originally from Russia.
Sources indicate that, in mid-March, it was revealed that JSC «Freedom Finance» had initiated an internal inquiry in August 2024 into the activities of executive director Svetovoy V.
As per the information, the investigation revealed that Svetovoy abused his position and the trust of clients, entered into personal financial relationships with the organization’s clients, and proposed transferring money not to the company’s accounts but directly to him, allegedly for more effective investment. According to the information, the funds obtained in this manner were not used for investments but for Svetovoy’s personal needs, including the repayment of his debts.
The obtained data indicated that these actions were carried out by him independently, without the knowledge of the management. As noted in the information, based on the investigation, Svetovoy was dismissed in August 2024 under discrediting circumstances. According to the data obtained by KazTAG, the investigation materials were handed over to law enforcement agencies for potential criminal prosecution. As became known on April 3, the information mentioned in this paragraph, which was obtained by KazTAG, could largely have originated from «Freedom Finance» itself, which might have simulated the appearance of investigating these facts for reporting to regulatory authorities.
Journalists reached out to the press service of «Freedom Finance» for comments on this matter as early as March 17, but there has been no response to the request to date.
However, on March 26, the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) responded to the editorial request, stating that based on complaints from depositors regarding fraudulent actions by a top manager, an inspection of «Freedom Finance» had been initiated.
«Freedom Finance» is part of Freedom Holding Corp., whose main shareholder is businessman of Russian origin Timur Turlov. It should be noted that ignoring requests on sensitive issues by this company has become a regular occurrence.
On April 3, lawyer Svetlana Oralbayeva reported that dozens of people are victims in two criminal cases related to fraud within the structure of Freedom Holding Corp. According to the victims, the stolen funds of depositors were transferred to top managers of Freedom Finance. The lawyer believes that the fraud at Freedom could not have been committed without Turlov’s knowledge. Additionally, the victims accused Freedom’s top management of a scheme to withdraw money to an offshore location and creating a financial pyramid. It was also revealed that one of the individuals who trusted Freedom Finance top manager Vitaliy Svetovoy ultimately lost money and took his own life in Petropavlovsk.
It was found that Svetovoy has been in custody since January 23. Furthermore, it became known that another Freedom Finance top manager became a suspect in a criminal case – Temerlan Bekov, the head of the investor and employee training department at Freedom Finance in Uzbekistan, whose case is under investigation at the Department of Economic Investigations (DEI) in Astana. Meanwhile, the victims in the criminal cases involving Freedom’s top managers expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of the investigations. Additionally, the lawyer representing the victims compared Turlov to the infamous creator of the largest financial pyramid in CIS history, «MMM», Sergey Mavrodi, and accused him of withdrawing depositors’ funds from Kazakhstan to an offshore location. Following these publications, on April 4, a threat was received by the editorial office of KazTAG.
On April 4, 84-year-old resident of the North Kazakhstan region, Aida Lukyanova, on behalf of pensioners, complained to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev about Turlov and called on the head of state to stop the billionaire’s activities in Kazakhstan.
It should be added that KazTAG has repeatedly reported in the past about the possible involvement of Freedom officials in fraudulent schemes.
For instance, in September 2023, journalists reported that a person resembling the president of Freedom Holding Corp., Askar Tashtitov, was captured on video with a man identified by those who distributed the video as Olzhas Ashikbayev, convicted in a criminal case involving $22 million. According to some data, he earned these funds by identifying certain «bypass schemes» at FFIN Brokerage Services, but the money was taken from him, he was accused of fraud, and imprisoned. Notably, the real Tashtitov confirmed in court a meeting with Ashikbayev, who testified during the trial that the head of Freedom Holding Corp. offered him $200,000 in connection with this case. Later, KazTAG reported that two U.S. government agencies had launched investigations against the Kazakhstani Freedom Holding. In the spring of 2024, it became known that the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) refused to approve Tashtitov’s candidacy, citing unresolved issues. On April 2, KazTAG reported that ARDFM declined to approve Farhat Sarsekeyev for the position of managing director of JSC «Bank Freedom Finance Kazakhstan».
Additionally, on March 13, 2024, journalists reported that the Russian state corporation «Deposit Insurance Agency» (DIA) is seeking to recover losses from Turlov for the withdrawal of assets from Russia. Later, Turlov expressed bewilderment regarding the claims of the Russian entity, using the word «allegedly» in relation to the information disseminated by the DIA. On March 18, it became known that Turlov’s assets were seized in connection with a case involving the withdrawal of funds from Russia. On March 20, journalist Mikhail Kozachkov reported that Stanislav Mashagin, a shareholder of the Russian JSC «Volga Capital», suspected of embezzlement at the «Association» bank, for which Turlov is accused of withdrawing assets from Russia, is implementing a project in Kazakhstan together with Turlov.
On August 23, journalists reported that investigative actions were being conducted at the Freedom Broker office in Almaty in connection with a case involving shares of «Kazakhtelecom» and Kcell.
