02Your obligation here
Kazakhstan runs two banking perimeters, and the one you sit in decides who supervises you. Onshore the ARDFM licenses banks and financial institutions; inside the Astana International Financial Centre the AFSA runs a separate banking regime; and the AFM sits behind both as the national financial-intelligence authority. Whichever perimeter you fall under, the obligation behind the licence is the same in shape: a named compliance officer, a written AML/CFT programme, a documented risk assessment, risk-based customer due diligence, ongoing sanctions and PEP screening, transaction monitoring, and suspicious-transaction reporting to the AFM.
Onshore (Republic of Kazakhstan)
ARDFM The Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market licenses and supervises banks and financial institutions. Public register: elicense.kz/LicensingContent/SimpleSearchLicense
Astana IFC (AIFC)
AFSA The Astana Financial Services Authority runs the AIFC banking regime for firms authorised inside the centre. Public register: publicreg.myafsa.com
Financial intelligence
AFM The Financial Monitoring Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the national FIU and AML/CFT authority behind both perimeters for reporting. Site: gov.kz/memleket/entities/afm
Any specific ARDFM or AFSA capital threshold, MLRO residency rule, filing deadline or transition date is confirmed against that regulator's own framework before it is stated. The sentence stays generic if unconfirmed.
03What we build in Kazakhstan banking
01Licensing & new-regime buildThe AML/CFT programme ARDFM or AFSA expects behind a banking or FI authorisation: enterprise-wide risk assessment, policies and procedures, the compliance and MLRO function, correspondent-banking and screening controls, the file that survives the authorisation review.Detail →
02RemediationAfter an ARDFM or AFSA finding, an inspection deficiency or a failed audit: gap analysis against the applicable framework, a fix that closes the finding, and the evidence trail to prove closure at re-inspection.Detail →
03Outsourced & bridge MLRO + FIUA senior compliance officer or bridge MLRO while you recruit, plus a managed financial-intelligence function: alert triage, investigations, and suspicious-transaction reporting to the AFM.Detail →
04Independent AML auditThe independent review of your banking programme that the supervisor and your board expect, tested against the current framework, with findings you can act on.Detail →
05Sanctions & integrity DDSanctions and screening controls, correspondent and counterparty due diligence, and integrity checks calibrated to a bank's exposure in the region.Detail →
04Why it is urgent now
Standing exposure
Banking in Kazakhstan is fully supervised on both perimeters today. ARDFM onshore and AFSA in the AIFC each license and inspect, and each maintains a public register, so a bank or FI without a defensible AML/CFT programme is exposed at the next inspection, not at some future deadline. For firms setting up inside the AIFC, the AFSA authorisation and the programme behind it are examined together, so the compliance build cannot lag the licence application. The pressure is standing, not seasonal.
Tell us what you are trying to license, fix or run in Kazakhstan banking.
Fixed scope. No hourly billing. A costed plan within 48 hours.