Russian citizens’ IINs annulled in Kazakhstan: What the ministry says

Tengrinews.kz – Reports have emerged on Kazakhstani social media that Russian citizens who obtained Individual Identification Numbers in violation of Kazakhstani law are having their IINs revoked. The Migration Service Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has confirmed this information, albeit with clarification.
According to Aslan Atalykov, Chairman of the Migration Service Committee, the IINs are not being revoked but rather annulled. He confirmed that violations were detected in the process of issuing IINs to some foreign citizens, and these cases are currently under investigation.

"We have annulled the IINs of individuals who obtained them in violation of procedures. The case is under investigation, but I cannot specify the article under which it is being investigated, as the criminal investigation is being handled by the investigation department. Once the investigation is complete, my colleagues will likely be able to provide comments. However, due to the secrecy of the investigation, no further details can be disclosed at this time," Atalykov stated at a briefing at the Central Communications Service.

Reports on social media indicate that a second-tier bank was allegedly involved in remotely issuing IINs, despite the fact that obtaining an IIN requires the applicant's physical presence, making remote issuance illegal. Atalykov did not name the bank but mentioned that over 10 such cases have been identified in Kazakhstan.

"Are these isolated incidents or a widespread issue?" a Tengrinews.kz correspondent asked.
"The facts are still being verified. We cannot name specific individuals involved at this stage, as the investigation is ongoing," Atalykov replied.

He added that under Kazakhstani law, an IIN may be annulled upon the request of an authorized body if procedural violations occurred during its issuance or if the foreign recipient no longer resides in Kazakhstan.
According to the MIA, 9,000 Russian citizens have been issued IINs in Kazakhstan this year. Currently, 87,000 Russian nationals hold residence permits for permanent stay in the country.
It is worth noting that last year, 435,408 IINs were issued to foreigners, including:

233,013 to Russian citizens
121,719 to Uzbekistani citizens
25,654 to Chinese citizens
13,846 to Tajikistani citizens
9,308 to Kyrgyz citizens.