Kazakhstan Writes Off 373 Billion Tenge in Debt for 98,600 Citizens

Debt relief reaches nearly 100,000 people

Kazakhstan has written off 373 billion tenge in personal debt for 98,600 citizens through bankruptcy procedures, according to figures released by the State Revenue Committee on November 11, 2026. Another 23,195 people are undergoing proceedings involving 134.5 billion tenge in unpaid obligations.

Together, the completed and pending cases account for 507.5 billion tenge in debt. The distinction matters for borrowers: 373 billion tenge relates to people already declared bankrupt, while the remaining 134.5 billion tenge belongs to people whose cases are still being processed.

Personal bankruptcy became available in Kazakhstan in March 2023. It gives people who cannot repay their debts a legal route to discharge eligible obligations or arrange repayment through a different procedure. For households facing debts they cannot manage, the process can end a financial burden, although bankruptcy also brings restrictions lasting several years.

The latest figures come as Kazakhstan seeks to simplify access. Since March 2026, some people with debts unpaid for more than five years have qualified for a shorter procedure outside court. The financial regulator also says banks will offer bankruptcy as an option to borrowers who are not repaying their loans.

Pending cases carry larger average debts

The committee's figures show that people already declared bankrupt owed an average of about 3.78 million tenge each. That calculation divides 373 billion tenge by 98,600 citizens. Among the 23,195 people still undergoing proceedings, the average is about 5.8 million tenge, based on their combined debt of 134.5 billion tenge.

The average debt in pending cases is therefore roughly 53% higher than in completed cases. In practical terms, the next group seeking relief carries a larger debt burden per person. These averages describe two groups of borrowers; individual debts can be much smaller or larger.

Pending debts make up about 26.5% of the combined 507.5 billion tenge. Their eventual treatment will depend on the outcome of the proceedings and the rules applying to each person's obligations.

Three routes serve different financial situations

Kazakhstan offers three routes for people in financial difficulty: bankruptcy outside court, bankruptcy supervised by a court, and restoration of solvency. Solvency means being able to meet financial obligations. The restoration procedure allows a person to arrange repayment without acquiring bankrupt status.

The route outside court is available for qualifying debts of up to 1,600 monthly calculation indices, about 6.92 million tenge in 2026, when the applicant has no property. The monthly calculation index is a statutory unit used to calculate legal thresholds and other amounts. Expressing the limit in that unit allows its value in tenge to change when the index changes.

One key condition described for bankruptcy applicants is that debt has gone unpaid for a year. Eligibility also depends on the requirements of the relevant procedure, so the size of a debt alone does not determine whether an application succeeds.

Court proceedings provide another route for qualifying cases. A case in Taraz illustrates the amounts and creditors that can be involved: a court approved judicial bankruptcy for a woman who owed more than 7.4 million tenge to seven creditors. Her debt exceeded the approximate 2026 threshold for the procedure outside court.

A shorter process for some older debts

Since March 2026, Kazakhstan has shortened the bankruptcy procedure outside court from six months to one month for certain debtors. The accelerated route covers qualifying debts of up to 1,600 monthly calculation indices where obligations have remained unpaid for more than five years.

For people who meet those conditions, the change reduces the stated processing period by five months. It targets debts that have already remained unresolved for a long time, while keeping the debt ceiling associated with the procedure outside court.

The main developments span more than three years:

• March 2023: Kazakhstan began accepting applications for personal bankruptcy.
• March 2026: The procedure outside court was shortened from six months to one month for qualifying applicants with debts unpaid for more than five years.
• November 11, 2026: The State Revenue Committee reported 98,600 people declared bankrupt and another 23,195 undergoing proceedings.

Applicants must still meet the conditions for the route they seek. The shorter timetable offers a faster decision for an eligible group, while other borrowers continue through the procedures that fit their circumstances.

Rejections remain a major part of the picture

The Banking Ombudsman Service has said that more than 378,000 applications were submitted after personal bankruptcy became available, with 72% rejected for various reasons. That means nearly three out of every four applications in that tally did not pass the requirements.

Pavlodar Region provides a local example. Authorities there declared 3,361 people bankrupt, while more than 13,000 applicants received refusals because they did not meet the established conditions. The number refused was more than three times the number declared bankrupt.

For borrowers, those figures show why checking eligibility is an important part of seeking relief. The process considers circumstances such as the amount owed, property ownership and how long obligations have remained unpaid. A person in serious financial difficulty may still need a different route if their application does not meet the conditions of the procedure selected.

The application figures and the national count of completed bankruptcies measure different stages of the system. An application starts a request for relief; a declaration of bankruptcy records a legal outcome. People currently undergoing proceedings sit between those stages.

What borrowers give up after bankruptcy

People declared bankrupt face a five year ban on obtaining new bank loans and microloans. They can undergo bankruptcy again only after at least seven years. Those restrictions make the decision consequential even when discharge offers immediate relief from eligible debts.

The credit ban limits how households can fund later purchases or cover a financial shortfall. Someone who previously relied on borrowing must plan around income, savings or other available support during the restriction. The seven year interval also means another bankruptcy procedure will not be available soon after the first.

A temporary restriction on leaving Kazakhstan is also among the restrictions described in connection with bankruptcy. Borrowers with travel plans need to understand how the relevant procedure affects them, alongside the longer restrictions on credit and repeat bankruptcy.

Restoration of solvency offers a different legal outcome: it allows debts to be managed without the person receiving bankrupt status. For a borrower with a workable repayment capacity, that makes the choice of procedure especially important. Debt discharge and an arrangement to repay obligations answer different financial situations.

Banks are expected to offer the option

The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market says banks will offer bankruptcy to borrowers who are not repaying their loans. Kazakhstan is also developing measures to simplify personal bankruptcy procedures.

Having a bank raise the option could bring the legal process to the attention of customers already struggling with repayments. The practical decision would still depend on the borrower's debts, assets and ability to repay, as well as the conditions attached to the available routes.

No implementation date was given for the wider bank proposal. The specific acceleration already described is the change introduced in March 2026 for qualifying debts unpaid for more than five years.

The rejection figures make access to accurate eligibility information a concrete concern. Borrowers need to understand whether they qualify for a procedure outside court, should seek a court process, or may be able to restore solvency through repayment. Offering the option is the beginning of that decision, while approval depends on meeting the legal requirements.

The scale of relief and the work still pending

The 373 billion tenge written off represents a substantial reduction in debt for the 98,600 citizens who completed bankruptcy. For the 23,195 people still in proceedings, the immediate issue is the outcome of cases involving another 134.5 billion tenge.

The figures describe both the reach of the system and the difficulty of entering it. Tens of thousands have obtained relief, while the Banking Ombudsman Service's application tally shows a high rejection rate. The shorter procedure addresses waiting time for one eligible group; the proposed role for banks concerns how struggling borrowers learn about and approach bankruptcy.

For an individual household, the central calculation is more personal than the national totals: which debts can be resolved, whether repayment is possible, and how years without access to new credit will affect daily finances. Kazakhstan's three routes give those households different legal choices, each with conditions that shape the outcome.

Key Points

• Kazakhstan has written off 373 billion tenge in debt for 98,600 citizens declared bankrupt.
• Another 23,195 people are undergoing proceedings involving 134.5 billion tenge.
• Average debt is about 3.78 million tenge in completed cases and 5.8 million tenge in pending cases.
• Since March 2026, some qualifying applicants with debts unpaid for more than five years can complete the procedure outside court in one month instead of six.
• The Banking Ombudsman Service reported that 72% of more than 378,000 applications were rejected.
• Bankruptcy brings a five year restriction on new bank loans and microloans, with repeat bankruptcy available only after at least seven years.
• The financial regulator says banks will offer bankruptcy as an option to borrowers who are not repaying loans.