Why is Timur Turlov, a fraudster, and his company Freedom Finance still engaging in illegal activities?
Our readers are puzzled about Freedom Finance: how can they claim to be Kazakhstani and American at the same time in their advertising while also being involved in potential illegal activities?
Freedom has numerous legal entities, including in the United States. The Foundation for Financial Journalism, a well-known organization in financial circles, conducted an investigation at the end of 2020 and suggested that the entire structure of Freedom Finance has characteristics of a financial pyramid with elements of money laundering.
You can read the full investigation by following the link provided. We will only share some of the most interesting facts without adding our own comments. Form your own conclusions.
The owner of Freedom Finance, Timur Turlov, owns a variety of companies, including those based in Belize. One of these, FFIN Brokerage Services, is included in the “black list” of the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the regulation and development of the financial market, and has access to investors’ funds.
In the last year, Freedom Holding showed abnormal profit growth. For example, in the first six months of the crisis of 2020, profits exceeded $47 million, which is a completely abnormal increase that may indicate financial fraud. There is also a suspicion that Freedom Finance has ties to the business and political elites of Kazakhstan, who use the financial structure for money laundering, and this may explain the cooperation with offshore firms.
The study presents interesting statistics about the distribution of profit per employee. By 2018, each of the 1,300 employees of Freedom Finance had earned $65,000, and with a 15% staff increase, profitability tripled. This suggests that the company may have been provided with funds by third parties for potential money laundering.
In the past year, over 30% of all commission payments intended for Freedom Holding were transferred to companies owned by Timur Turlov, totaling almost $11 million. This may likely be a payment for the opportunity to launder illegal money.
Until the end of 2020, the Freedom24 online platform used the Wirecard payment system, which was later revealed to be a fraudulent office whose leaders were arrested in Germany due to the disappearance of almost $2 billion. The connection between Freedom Finance and this office, as well as the loss of money, is highly suspicious, especially considering that this collaboration occurred at a time when it was unclear who was providing the money.
Through its Cyprus arm, Freedom Finance has also worked closely with Lek Securities for many years. And this organization, in turn, has repeatedly become the epicenter of scandals and proceedings. In particular, its head at the end of 2019 paid a fine of $420,000 for violation of trade.
