Fraudsters Are Winning Kazakhstan's Regional Investors Before Brokers Arrive

Kazakhstan's 5 Million Brokerage Accounts Hide a Regional Divide

Kazakhstan's retail investment base is growing quickly on paper. According to the Central Securities Depository's 2025 annual report, the number of brokerage accounts held by investors rose almost one-and-a-half times during the year, passing 5 million.

The boom, however, is both uneven and shallow. Out of 195.8 trillion tenge in financial instruments held at the depository, households account for only about 3.35 trillion tenge — less than 2%. Almaty and Astana together generate roughly a third of all new accounts, and the most active group, people aged 18–34, is concentrated in the capitals.

In Kostanay oblast, a region of 820,000 people with mining and agriculture at its economic core, incomes and free liquidity exist, but a typical portfolio is still a deposit, property and sometimes cash dollars. Shares and bonds are widely treated as something between a casino and a scam.

The reason, argues a Kostanay-based specialist who works on investment culture, is not simply weak financial literacy. Registered internet fraud in Kazakhstan rose from 22,560 cases in 2024 to 27,892 in 2025, with official losses above 12 billion tenge and expert estimates of real losses at 29–30 billion tenge. More than 96% of victims are ordinary individuals, and many schemes are disguised as investment services. In the regions, those schemes often reach people before a licensed broker does.

Why Fraudsters Outcompete Licensed Brokers in Kostanay

The gap between 5 million accounts and less than 2% of assets

Account growth looks like inclusion, but the asset figures show that most activity is formal. Household holdings of 3.35 trillion tenge against 195.8 trillion in depository assets mean individuals control a tiny share of the financial system. Many regional accounts are likely empty or dormant, while the most active group is concentrated in Almaty and Astana. The headline growth therefore overstates the spread of genuine investing outside the capitals.

Why fraudsters make the first call in Kostanay

The article argues that fraudsters are better at regional outreach than licensed brokers. Before calling, they assemble a personal dossier from social media, sale listings, leaked databases and public registers; they know the target's name, city, approximate income and recent purchases. A licensed broker, by contrast, must begin with risk disclosure. That asymmetry makes the first investment contact in many regional households a scam, not a regulated offer.

The effect is self-reinforcing: after a direct loss or a neighbour's story, people rationally conclude that all investing is fraud. The reputational damage falls on the legal market, not only on the criminals. More than 96% of victims are ordinary individuals, and many schemes are explicitly disguised as brokerage or trading services.

The delivery problem

The licensed industry is not competing for this audience. Outside Almaty and Astana there are few broker offices, few live events, and most communication is an app plus online advertising that regional residents cannot distinguish from scam platforms. Yet the specialist says that in-person explanations — what a licence is, how to check a company in the regulator's register, why guaranteed 30% monthly returns are not real — usually dissolve distrust within one or two meetings.

Where the next wave can actually come from

The infrastructure is already in place: local assets at the depository exceed 190 trillion tenge, there are more than 5 million accounts, and retail investors provided 62.1% of stock trading volume on KASE's secondary market in 2024. Because penetration in the capitals is already high, the article concludes the next growth phase depends on regions where accounts are unopened or empty — but only if brokers arrive physically with education, representative offices and local ambassadors before the fraud call centres do.

How to Make the Legal Market Arrive Before the Call Centre

For licensed brokers and investor-education programmes, the article points to a delivery problem rather than a demand problem.

• Treat physical presence as the main regional growth lever. In Kostanay oblast, with 820,000 residents, the specialist says distrust usually disappears within one or two in-person meetings, while app-only outreach is indistinguishable from scam advertising.
• Make licence verification part of ordinary communication. Because most fraud victims are ordinary individuals and schemes imitate brokerage brands, telling people how to check a company in the official regulator register addresses the exact reason many residents dismiss all investing as fraud.
• Build local ambassadors and offline events in mining and agricultural regions. The next growth wave cannot rely on Almaty and Astana, where penetration is already high and which account for about a third of new accounts.
• For regional households: if a caller knows your name, city, recent sale and income and promises guaranteed returns, treat it as the fraud pattern described in the data. A legitimate broker is required to start with risk disclosure, not a personalized return guarantee.