Petition: Resignation of Madina Abylkassymova and Financial Reform in Kazakhstan

Petition Calling for the Resignation of Madina Abylkassymova, Chair of the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM), and for Comprehensive Financial Oversight Reform

To:

The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The Citizens and Civil Society of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Petition Overview and Statement of Concern

We, the citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan, joined by members of the expert and business communities, express our deep concern over the critical state of the country's banking and financial sector under the leadership of ARDFM Chair Madina Abylkassymova.

The regulatory agency has consistently demonstrated a disconnect from the real-world economic challenges facing everyday citizens, failing to protect consumers of financial services while actively advancing the interests of major financial institutions.

Key Grievances Regarding ARDFM Leadership:

Catastrophic Household Debt and Collector Abuse:

The total volume of overdue personal debt sold or transferred to collection agencies has reached a record 1.1 trillion tenge (over $2.4 billion) and continues to grow at an alarming pace. Effective debt-relief mechanisms are nonexistent; the regulator has delayed meaningful restrictive measures for years, leaving millions of Kazakh citizens at the mercy of aggressive collection agencies.

Failure to Counter Cyber Fraud and Personal Data Leaks:

Online loan approvals by banks and microfinance organizations (MFOs) have been overly streamlined to take mere minutes, while the burden of disputing and canceling fraudulent loans falls entirely on the victims, often dragging them through months of litigation. Microfinance institutions remain a primary vector for personal data breaches, yet strict regulatory oversight of their cybersecurity practices remains virtually absent.

Protection of Banking Monopolies and Risk-Shifting to Citizens:

The regulator continues to promote opaque bailout mechanisms for select commercial banks using public funds and responsible market participants, effectively normalizing a model of "privatizing profits and socializing losses." Citing "bank secrecy," the leadership of the ARDFM systematically avoids public accountability regarding high-profile cases involving the illicit transfer of billions of dollars abroad.

Doubling of Agency Budget Amid Zero Public Accountability:

Following the transition of ARDFM's funding to the National Bank, the agency's annual budget nearly doubled to 17.5 billion tenge (approximately $40 million). Detailed breakdowns of these expenditures remain entirely shielded from public and parliamentary oversight.

Disregard for Public Interest and Lack of Transparency:

Agency leadership consistently evades constructive engagement with the press, the business community, and the public, routinely favoring backroom decisions and boilerplate dismissals over genuine dialogue.

Our Demands:

Dismiss Madina Yerasylovna Abylkassymova from the position of Chair of the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market due to a loss of public trust and systemic policy failures.

Conduct an independent audit of the ARDFM budget and publish a comprehensive, itemized account of its expenditures over recent years.

Tighten regulations on microfinance institutions and online lending, including mandatory biometric verification and a mandatory "cooling-off" period to prevent fraudulent loans.

Ban the sale and transfer of delinquent personal debt to collection agencies, overhauling debt-resolution policies to prioritize borrower rehabilitation.

Ensure full transparency in the supervision of commercial (second-tier) banks, eliminating confidential state-bailout lists and ending the practice of absorbing private financial losses with public funds.

Sign this petition to demand a transparent, fair, and secure financial system for Kazakhstan!