A couple from Kostanay illegally earned over two billion tenge through cryptocurrency.

The court established that the spouses engaged in prohibited entrepreneurial activities from August 2021 to January 2024, specifically the exchange and trading of unsecured digital assets, the circulation of which is banned in Kazakhstan. The income generated exceeded two billion tenge (a particularly large amount).

“The state prosecutor requested a sentence of 2 years and 6 months of imprisonment with confiscation of property for the defendants. The defendants did not admit their guilt, showed no remorse for their actions, but did not deny the fact of engaging in cryptocurrency exchange, believing that they had not violated the law and were conducting legal business,” stated the message from Court No. 2 of the city of Kostanay.

The penalty under Article 214, Part 2, Point 2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan provides for punishment in the form of a fine of up to 5,000 monthly calculation indicators (MCP), or corrective labor of the same amount, or community service for up to 1,200 hours, or restriction of freedom for up to 5 years, or imprisonment for the same duration with confiscation of property.

“A mitigating circumstance was recognized due to the presence of minor children. No aggravating factors were established. Considering the personalities of the defendants, the nature and degree of public danger of the committed act, the spouses were sentenced to two years of imprisonment each with property confiscation and deprivation of the right to engage in the issuance and circulation of digital assets, as well as digital mining for seven years,” the court noted.

The husband was taken into custody in the courtroom. The execution of the sentence for the wife has been postponed for five years due to the presence of two minor children in her care.

The prosecutor's claim for the recovery of more than two billion tenge from the convicted individuals in favor of the state has been satisfied—this represents income from illegal entrepreneurship.

The verdict has not yet entered into legal force.