90 criminal cases relating to cryptocurrency have been opened in Kyrgyzstan

Since the start of 2026, Kyrgyzstan’s law enforcement agencies have opened 90 criminal cases relating to the use of cryptocurrency. This was announced by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Ulan Niyazbekov, at the third meeting of the National Council on Virtual Assets and Blockchain Technologies, held on 5 September in Cholpon-Ata.

According to the Minister of Internal Affairs, virtual assets are becoming part of the criminal infrastructure and are used in cyber fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, the recruitment of frontmen – so-called ‘droppers’ – as well as in schemes to conceal and transfer criminal assets.

Investigating such crimes is complicated by the cross-border nature of the operations, the high speed of transactions, and the use of chains of crypto wallets, mixers and other tools that make it difficult to trace the money and identify the ultimate beneficiaries.

As an example, Niyazbekov cited an operation carried out in 2025 to dismantle a transnational group involved in online fraud. On the suspects’ electronic storage devices, law enforcement officers discovered details of a cryptocurrency wallet on the TRON network containing digital assets worth over $3 million.

The assets were identified and recorded using specialised software designed to analyse blockchain data. However, the minister did not specify whether they were subsequently seized or confiscated.

“Combating crime in the blockchain environment must be based on a comprehensive approach combining operational and investigative activities, digital forensics, blockchain analytics and financial monitoring,” stated the Minister of the Interior.

To speed up data exchange, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Bank signed a cooperation agreement on 5 June to combat fraud in the financial and credit system. According to Niyazbekov, the mechanism already allows for the prompt suspension of suspicious transactions on bank accounts upon receipt of alerts regarding cybercrime.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs is also working with the Prosecutor General’s Office to develop a specialised module within the Unified Register of Crimes. Through this module, the internal affairs agencies, the Prosecutor General’s Office and the National Bank will be able to exchange information on crimes committed in the digital environment.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has initiated amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure to introduce the concept of a ‘parallel financial investigation’. This mechanism provides that, whilst identifying the direct perpetrators, law enforcement agencies will track the movement of criminal proceeds, identify their recipients and prevent the further circulation of the funds.

The Ministry, in collaboration with other state bodies, is also developing a framework for a national system to combat cybercrime. The document is intended to set out a unified approach to the work of government departments and the long-term development of law enforcement practice.

Since the start of the year, Ministry of Internal Affairs staff have held over 300 events across the country’s regions, focusing on digital literacy and protecting the public from cyber fraud.