Freedom Holding eyes potential bank acquisition in Kazakhstan

ALMATY. Feb 3 (Interfax) - Freedom Holding Corp. is evaluating the potential acquisition of a bank in Kazakhstan, the company's press service said Tuesday.

"While the holding does not have a direct, immediate goal to complete a transaction and is not in talks with any specific bank, we are prepared to consider options that present a compelling opportunity," the press service told Interfax.

The statement follows comments by Freedom Holding CEO Timur Turlov to Bloomberg on Monday, in which he expressed interest in acquiring a local bank with at least 2.5 trillion tenge in assets for a merger with Freedom Bank. Turlov said that there are several banks for sale "in theory" in Kazakhstan."

According to National Bank of Kazakhstan data, Freedom Bank was the 10th largest among the country's 23 banks by assets as of January 1, 2026, with roughly 2.6 trillion tenge.

U.S.-registered Freedom Holding Corp., founded and majority-owned by Turlov, operates financial divisions across 22 countries, including Kazakhstan, Cyprus, Poland and Uzbekistan. Its services span retail brokerage, investment banking, securities trading and insurance.