Five microfinance organizations shut down in Kazakhstan
Tengrinews.kz - Five microfinance organizations (MFOs) have been shut down in Kazakhstan.
The Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA) announced ongoing efforts to crack down on unscrupulous MFOs that exploit legal loopholes and trap citizens in debt.
Since the beginning of the year, the agency has suspended the operations of five MFOs whose practices violated consumer rights. More than 300,000 Kazakhstanis were affected, and the total overpaid amount exceeded 71 billion tenge.
“Under the guise of legal lending, borrowers were forced to pay additional fees, commissions, and insurance premiums that circumvented established interest rate limits. As a result, people found themselves in a debt trap, having to repay amounts many times greater than the original loan,” the agency said.
The FMA urged citizens to carefully review the terms when applying for microloans.
“It is your right to know what you are paying for. Promises like ‘no credit checks’ or ‘loans for everyone’ are not practices of legitimate MFOs,” the agency warned.
Previously, the FMA shut down a pyramid scheme in Astana.
'Be vigilant' - FMA appealed to Kazakhstani citizens