Bank RBK Helps Russians Launder Billions of Rubles and Move Capital to Europe

To do so, the bank issues huge loans to shell companies with deferred repayment of principal

Hronika.kz continues to closely examine and analyze cases involving Kazakhstan’s second-tier banks that assist Russian companies in circumventing sanctions imposed after the start of the war in Ukraine and in laundering significant amounts of money.

On December 10, 2025, the portal Ranking.kz reported that as of November 1 this year, the total loan portfolio of Kazakhstan’s banks had exceeded KZT 42 trillion, with Bank RBK emerging as the leader:

«The absolute leader in monthly growth is Bank RBK, which increased its loan portfolio by 14.7% at once, to KZT 1.59 trillion. In value terms, the growth amounted to KZT 203.8 billion — an all-time record across the entire sector. Since the beginning of the year, the bank’s loan portfolio has grown by 41.7%, while the average growth across the sector is only 17.4%.

It is also worth noting that the quality of Bank RBK’s loan portfolio has improved: as of November 1, the share of loans overdue by more than 90 days (NPL 90+) stood at just 4.2%, down from 4.6% a month earlier. This reflects not only the efficiency of the bank’s operations, but also its resilience and stability, as well as a sound lending policy.

Bank RBK not only lends efficiently to individuals across a wide range of areas, but also actively supports businesses and participates in government programs aimed at providing credit support to entrepreneurs in key sectors of the economy. For example, along with other banks and financial institutions, Bank RBK actively participates in state programs to support small and medium-sized businesses jointly with the Damu Fund, using a variety of financial instruments.”

However, behind impressive figures there are sometimes not-so-pleasant details regarding how they came about.

Hronika.kz has established that Bank RBK is actively involved in helping Russian companies bypass sanctions. And it does so according to the following scheme.

Thus, in July 2023, an individual named Anton TERENTYEV registered LLP “RC Caspian” in Astana, with its primary activity listed as holding company activities (OKED: 64200). On September 11, 2024, a stake in the company was acquired by the Russian LLC “SPB Housing.” According to Russian databases, SPB Housing LLC has been operating since 2007 in the field of real estate leasing and management in St. Petersburg.

From the moment of its registration to the present day, LLP “RC Caspian” has paid, according to the website adata.kz, only KZT 23,998 in taxes in 2024: KZT 18,460 as a registration fee credited to the local budget, and KZT 5,538 as a consular fee—that is, payment for the acquisition of a stake in the LLP by the Russian company.

On November 12, 2024, according to a statement from a ruble-denominated foreign-currency account at Bank RBK, LLP “RC Caspian” received funds in the amount of RUB 1.2 billion from SPB Housing LLC as a loan under an agreement dated September 18, 2024, transferred from an account opened with JSC BCS Bank (Russian Federation).

On November 13, 2024, funds in the amount of RUB 1.166 billion were converted into EUR 11,126,747 and credited to a cash collateral account under an agreement dated November 13, 2024. The conversion rate was RUB 104.79 per euro.

Following a documentary inspection, the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market established that on November 14, 2024, Bank RBK and LLP “RC Caspian” entered into a financing agreement on the following terms:

1. A non-revolving credit line in the amount of EUR 11,000,000. The amount and currency of the tranche provided: EUR 10,570,408.80. Maturity date: up to and including November 14, 2029. Interest rate: 3.1%.
2. Purpose of the borrowed funds: investment—the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Phumalan Services Limited (Cyprus).
3. Repayment schedule: deferral of principal repayment for six months from the date of issuance of each tranche, followed by equal monthly installments; interest payable monthly.
4. Collateral:

• Pledge of depositor’s rights—LLP “RC Caspian” under the deposit (application to the “short-term” bank deposit agreement dated November 13, 2024) in the amount of EUR 11,027,500;
• 100% of the shares of Phumalan Services Limited (Cyprus) owned by LLP “RC Caspian”;
• Full joint and several guarantee of SPB Housing LLC and Agroterminal LLC.

On January 6, 2025, LLP “RC Caspian” made early repayment of the loan under the agreement dated November 21, 2024, in the amount of EUR 10,570,408.80 using funds placed on deposit under the agreement dated November 13, 2024.

On January 8, 2025, Bank RBK and LLP “RC Caspian” signed an agreement to terminate the financing agreement.

Thus, LLP “RC Caspian,” 100% of which is owned by SPB Housing LLC, acquired 100% of the shares of Phumalan Services Limited (Cyprus). At the same time, SPB Housing LLC provided collateral to the bank in the form of depositor’s rights—LLP “RC Caspian” under the deposit in the amount of EUR 11,027,500.

As established during the inspection and court proceedings:
“Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 3 of Article 4 of the AML/CFT Law, the above transaction is classified as a suspicious operation and is subject to financial monitoring regardless of the form in which it was executed and irrespective of the amount involved, whether actually carried out or merely attempted.

This fact indicates that the bank violated the requirements for submitting information under Code 7006 of the Rules. Specifically, the authorized body reasonably determined that such suspicious transactions were conducted repeatedly and that there is a risk of the bank’s involvement in schemes related to the legalization (laundering) of proceeds obtained by criminal means//”

Please note that the court decision states that “these suspicious transactions were carried out repeatedly.” That is, it can be assumed that the same capital-outflow scheme via loan issuance was implemented by the bank many times. Perhaps this is precisely why Bank RBK is increasing its loan portfolio and improving its quality? Incidentally, by a ruling of the Specialized Interdistrict Administrative Court of the city of Almaty, Bank RBK was brought to administrative liability under Part 12 of Article 214 of the Code of Administrative Offenses and fined KZT 2,359,200.

Another aspect of this scheme concerns its impact on the tenge exchange rate. Russian companies purchase euros in Kazakhstan and transfer them to Europe, while Kazakhstan is left with large volumes of illiquid rubles.

Photo: Bank RBK.

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