Authorities on the Hunt for Influencer Known as Qaisar Qamza
Law enforcement in Kazakhstan is actively searching for a prominent blogger, identified on social media as Qaisar Qamza, who is accused of accumulating significant cryptocurrency through the illegal advertising of online gambling services within the Central Asian nation. The country's primary financial watchdog confirmed that authorities in Astana have already seized a portion of the individual's digital assets.
The blogger, whose real name is Kaisar Kamza Bakytzhanuly, is 30 years old and has been active online for the past five years. He gained a substantial following under the handle "qais_arr" on Instagram, where he amassed 2.4 million subscribers. Additionally, he managed a private Telegram channel with 368,000 members and maintained a presence on TikTok and YouTube.
Using his extensive social media platforms, Bakytzhanuly consistently published videos and promotional materials that directly linked to an online betting website. The financial watchdog stated that he also provided his followers with a personal promo code, which offered special bonuses to users who signed up through his links.
"Kamza, K.B. advertised the online platform aimed at attracting citizens to participate in gambling, which allowed him to earn income in the form of rewards and percentages."
The Financial Monitoring Agency (AFM) of Kazakhstan issued a notice detailing these allegations. According to the agency, Bakytzhanuly received his compensation for these promotional activities in Tether, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar. The AFM further reported that assets totaling 182,700 USDT have been confiscated pursuant to a court order.
The authority stated, "To conceal his illegal income, the suspect used a crypto wallet, which received payments from the organizers of the online casino," and has requested any information regarding his whereabouts that could lead to his apprehension.
Kazakhstan's Broader Crackdown on Crypto-Related Crime
While Kazakhstan is working to liberalize and regulate cryptocurrency transactions within its economy, the government has concurrently intensified its efforts to combat crypto-related criminal activities. The country's commitment to this dual approach is evident in recent enforcement actions.
In November, the Ministry of Internal Affairs disclosed that over 1,000 criminal cases linked to cryptocurrency operations had been registered in the preceding two years. This indicates a significant volume of illicit activity being investigated.
Further underscoring the scale of these efforts, in September 2025, the nation seized digital assets valued at $10 million as part of an investigation into a Ponzi scheme. This scheme had successfully lured investors from across the former Soviet Union.
At the end of the same month, Kazakhstan disrupted a cryptocurrency laundering service named RAKS, which had gained considerable notoriety on the dark web. The AFM successfully blocked numerous wallets associated with RAKS, freezing approximately 9.7 million Tether (USDT) in the process. The total value of the laundered funds was reported to be $224 million.
In 2025, authorities in Astana took action to restrict access to more than 1,100 illegal crypto trading websites. This measure was announced in January by the agency.
These developments followed a report from the previous October, where the watchdog announced it had dismantled nearly 130 unlicensed crypto exchanges. During these operations, authorities claimed to have confiscated close to $17 million in virtual currencies from the operators of these exchanges.
The government's ultimate plans for the substantial amount of digital currency seized remain unclear. However, the National Bank of Kazakhstan revealed in November its intention to establish a national cryptocurrency reserve.
This national reserve is slated to be established in the first half of 2026 and will hold digital coins equivalent to up to $1 billion. The monetary authority has already allocated $300 million for the initial purchase of these assets.