Kazakhstan Shuts Down Illegal Cryptocurrency Exchange RAKS with $224 Million in Turnover
Date: 2025-09-30 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: IN WORLD
Kazakhstan's Financial Monitoring Agency announced the liquidation of the cryptocurrency exchange RAKS Exchange, which was used to launder proceeds from drug trafficking and online fraud. According to official data, the service operated for over three years and played a significant role in the region's shadow economy.
The investigation established that RAKS collaborated with two dozen darknet marketplaces, with a combined audience of over five million users. Transactions from over two hundred drug stores operating in Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, and Moldova were processed through this exchange. The platform's total turnover exceeded $224 million.
As part of the investigation, agency experts analyzed over four thousand crypto wallets. Sixty-seven addresses were identified as being used to store illegal funds. Assets worth 9.7 million USDT were frozen in these wallets.
Furthermore, specialists have detected signs of the exchanger's downtime. RAKS's social media accounts have been deleted, and the customer support team has stopped responding to clients. Numerous complaints about the service's failure to fulfill financial obligations have begun to appear on darknet forums.
According to the agency, the measures taken have caused significant damage to the drug industry. Supply chains have been disrupted, and trust in illegal platforms has declined, negatively impacting darknet market turnover. The official press release notes that the authorities' actions have had a significant impact on the shadow drug trafficking infrastructure and destabilized supply chains.
The investigation into RAKS exchange's activities is ongoing. Authorities emphasized that identifying and disrupting money laundering schemes using digital currencies remains a priority.
It was previously reported that Kazakhstan plans to create a digital asset fund, which should strengthen the country's position in regulating and overseeing the cryptocurrency market.
