Kazakhstan Tightens Currency Control Rules Effective April 19

The National Bank of Kazakhstan has approved new regulations for monitoring foreign exchange transactions. The key change requires all banks and branches of non-resident banks operating in the country to submit documents, information, and reports on currency operations to the central bank.

Financial institutions must now send a monthly report on conducted foreign exchange transactions. This report will include operations that meet established thresholds, as well as specific deals for buying and selling foreign currency.

For legal entities, the reporting threshold is set at currency operations equivalent to $50,000 or more. For individuals, reports are required for transactions from $10,000 equivalent. Additionally, cashless purchases and sales of foreign currency by individuals from $1,000 equivalent must be reported.

Banks themselves must report their own currency operations from $50,000 equivalent. All transactions involving the purchase and sale of foreign currency by banks are subject to reporting regardless of the amount.

This monthly reporting must be submitted to the National Bank's central office no later than the 10th day of the month following the reporting period.

The updated rules also clarify procedures for processing payments under foreign exchange contracts. When a contract receives a registration number, this identifier must be included in payment documents. Banks are obligated to verify the presence of this data.

If a payment lacks the required details or contains incorrect information, fund crediting may be suspended until clarification is provided. Should an incoming payment remain unidentified for 180 calendar days, the bank will return it to the sender without execution.

Furthermore, banks and other agents of currency control must inform the National Bank about any detected violations of foreign exchange legislation they encounter.

In practice, these regulations significantly strengthen oversight of currency flows through enhanced banking transparency. For businesses, the new $50,000 reporting threshold is crucial. For citizens, their threshold is $10,000. Certain cashless foreign exchange purchase and sale transactions will now be reported regardless of amount or at lower thresholds than before.

The new rules come into force on April 19.