Almaty, April 5, 2025
JSC “Freedom Finance” (the Company) considers it necessary to issue this statement in connection with publications placed by a number of online media outlets containing inaccurate and misleading information about the activities of companies within the Freedom Holding Corp. group and its shareholder, Timur Turlov.
The publications, united by a common negative tone, concern the investigation of a criminal case initiated at the request of JSC Freedom Finance against a former employee of the Company, V. Svetov. The materials contain a number of serious errors and inaccuracies, as well as an inconsistent presentation and a conflation of information relating to two different cases: the case of V. Svetov and the case of Zh. Kaparova against a former employee of JSC Freedom Finance, T. Bekov.
In order to prevent the dissemination of false and misleading information and to ensure accurate and complete coverage of the relevant cases, we consider it necessary to publish the following commentary.
Vitaliy Valeryevich Svetov was not a top manager of the Company. He held a middle-management position within the Company’s Sales Department. Initially, he supervised a sales office in Petropavlovsk (North Kazakhstan Region), and from March 2023 he oversaw two out of eight sales offices in Almaty. His duties in these positions did not include direct interaction with clients. Svetov did not have the authority to make strategic decisions or to act on behalf of the Company in dealings with clients.
In August 2024, the Company was approached by G. Isaeva with a demand to return funds that her father had transferred to Svetov, who, according to her, had promised to return the money with high interest. These funds were not transferred through the Company’s accounts but were given directly to Svetov—either in cash or to his personal bank accounts. No supporting documents were provided.
Based on the complaint received, the Company initiated an internal investigation, and Svetov was immediately suspended from work. As a result of the investigation, on August 6, 2024, Svetov was dismissed on discrediting grounds.
V. Svetov, in violation of the provisions of his employment contract, job description, and the Company’s internal documents (including the Client Service Quality Standards for Sales Department employees, the Code of Corporate Ethics, and the Internal Control Policy for the Prevention of Fraud and Corruption):
received funds from private individuals via personal transfers or cash handovers in especially large amounts under promises of repayment with interest; according to Svetov himself, he received money from at least 16 individuals;
created and sent clients forged screenshots of documents to mislead them regarding his allegedly significant investment successes;
repeatedly received and transferred funds to victims, including in cash;
spent the received funds, according to Svetov himself, on betting with bookmakers, personal needs, and transfers to third parties;
received money from many affected individuals (some of whom were not clients of the Company) from their personal savings, which were never placed in accounts with the Company.
At the same time, the transfer of funds was carried out without receipts, contracts, or confirmations. Neither the affected individuals nor Svetov himself were able to reconstruct or document the history of transfers—how much was given and how much was returned. Approximate amounts of damage within the internal investigation were determined based on Svetov’s own testimony and bank statements from his accounts with second-tier banks, which were compared with the limited documentation provided by some clients regarding transfers, which did not match the amounts of damage they claimed. Amounts allegedly transferred in cash also remained undetermined.
Thus, it was not possible for the Company to reliably establish the amounts transferred or returned in cash.
The Company immediately filed a report with the police (No. ZhT-2024-05032942), providing all collected materials. A criminal case was initiated. We continue to provide comprehensive assistance to the investigation.
Since that time, the Company has responded to numerous requests from regulators and has provided all requested information regarding the circumstances of the Svetov case.
The Company is also a party that suffered as a result of Svetov’s actions.
The affected individuals (some of whom were not even clients of the Company) entered into personal financial relationships with the suspect, independently transferring their funds to him outside the Company’s perimeter.
For our part, we:
act strictly within the legal framework;
initiated the investigation rather than concealing the problem;
took all measures предусмотренные by law and internal regulations: investigation, suspension, dismissal;
filed a report with the police to initiate criminal proceedings and transferred all information collected during the investigation;
provide assistance to the investigation and maintain ongoing interaction with regulators (including the ARRFR), promptly responding to all inquiries;
published our official position on our website as early as February 9, 2025 (https://ffin.kz/news/42205).
However, certain online media outlets, when covering this case, ignore important facts and distort information.
Since the end of 2024, attempts have been made by certain individuals to exert pressure on the Company, including:
threats of public campaigns and complaints in the event of refusal to pay the requested amounts;
dissemination of unverified information in the media, including by individuals who are not affected parties;
disclosure of information constituting investigation secrecy, manipulation of facts, and emotional pressure.
Moreover, shortly before a series of negative publications about JSC Freedom Finance appeared in the public domain, the Company received proposals from various individuals to “resolve the situation” by paying substantial sums of money, allegedly to avoid negative media coverage.
The Company rejected such “proposals,” regarding them as blackmail and attempts at corporate pressure. Following this refusal, a coordinated and rapid series of publications ensued, including 12 materials released by the KazTAG news agency over two days.
A number of publications deliberately conflated two different cases:
Case 1 — Zh. Kaparova vs. T. Bekov
Zh. Kaparova, frequently cited as a source in recent publications, is not a victim of V. Svetov. There were no losses on her brokerage accounts.
The problematic situation concerned her mother, who independently provided her login and password to former Freedom Finance employee T. Bekov, knowing that he was leaving the Company. After his dismissal, they agreed to cooperate for a separate fee, and Kaparova’s mother provided him with authorization data (logins and passwords) to manage her account. This information was confirmed by explanations provided by Zh. Kaparova herself during an in-person meeting with representatives of the Company and the ARRFR.
Subsequently, statements were submitted to the police, including against T. Bekov, seeking the initiation of criminal proceedings.
Failing to achieve the desired result within the legal framework, she began actively publishing negative information about the Company online.
Later, having learned about the case initiated against V. Svetov at the Company’s request, she attempted to unite with some of the affected individuals to exert joint public pressure on the Company, including G. Isaeva, together with whom she is cited as a primary source of information in most recent publications.
Case 2 — V. Svetov
This criminal case was initiated at the Company’s request. The former employee persuaded clients and colleagues, under various pretexts, to transfer funds to his personal accounts or in cash. Some received regular return transfers, which reinforced trust.
The exact number of affected individuals has not been established. Fourteen individuals contacted the Company at different times, and eleven contacted the police as part of the investigation.
Recently, despite an ongoing investigation into this case, a second case concerning the same episode involving V. Svetov was initiated at the request of certain affected individuals.
Materials published by a number of online media outlets contain:
inaccurate and unverified information;
emotional accusations;
distorted facts, as well as distorted connections and sequence of events;
quotations from individuals who are not, in fact, affected parties.
In essence, this campaign represents a PR attack organized in response to the Company’s refusal to participate in unlawful “out-of-court settlement.”
The Company has sent a pre-trial claim to one of the publications demanding removal of the articles, publication of a retraction, and cessation of the dissemination of false information.
JSC Freedom Finance respects the profession of journalism and the principles of freedom of speech, but expects media outlets to comply with legal standards, ethics, and fact-checking.
JSC “Freedom Finance”:
responded to information about the incident in accordance with established protocols by conducting an internal investigation and notifying law enforcement authorities;
initiated criminal proceedings to ensure a thorough investigation of V. Svetov’s actions;
actively cooperates with the investigation and responds to all inquiries from regulatory authorities;
has faced a PR attack, public pressure, and attempts at blackmail by certain individuals;
acts within the legal framework and calls upon affected individuals and media covering the above cases to do the same.
The Company adheres to a zero-tolerance policy toward defamation and reserves the right to protect its business reputation in court, including by holding accountable individuals and organizations that disseminate inaccurate information.
Taking this opportunity, the Company reminds its clients that, in order to avoid becoming victims of fraud:
fund your accounts only using the Company’s official details;
use only your own account for investing;
never share authorization data (logins and passwords) with third parties (including Company employees);
do not change your authorized phone number to that of third parties.
If you receive a proposal from any third party (including a Company employee) to do any of the above or to transfer funds personally to such a person, refuse and report the incident to the Company by calling customer support at 7555 or by sending a message to the compliance hotline at [email protected]
