Fraud lawyer in Almaty — we defend the accused and recover money for those who were deceived

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Fraud lawyer: defence against charges and recovery of money for the victim

You have been summoned for questioning after a contract fell through, or you have just transferred money to someone else's account and you realise you have been defrauded. In both situations time is against you: the outcome of the case depends on what you tell the investigator first and which documents you preserve now. Fear and haste lead to mistakes — from saying too much during questioning to deleting the messages that form the evidence.

This article is about the difference between fraud and non-performance of a contract, about the first steps for the accused and the victim, about recovering money through the bank and a civil claim, about drop cards, real estate and online fraud. Below I set out what to do with a lawyer at each stage and which materials to prepare for the meeting.

Fraud lawyer: whom he defends and whom he represents

A fraud lawyer handles both sides of the same problem. He defends the person suspected or accused of deception — from an entrepreneur after a failed deal to the holder of a bank card through which someone else's money passed. And he also represents the victim who transferred funds to fraudsters or lost an apartment under a forged power of attorney. It is one specialisation, because the mechanics of intent, schemes and proof are the same here.

By law, professional defence of a suspect is conducted by a lawyer; alongside him, at the suspect's request, a spouse, close relatives or legal representatives may be admitted to participate. The victim has the right to have a representative and to file a civil claim directly within the criminal case in order to recover damages from the guilty party. That is why a fraud lawyer is equally in demand as defence counsel and as a representative: he understands how the investigation gathers evidence of deception and knows how to work with that logic in his client's interests.

Fraud or non-performance of a contract: where the line lies for a fraud lawyer

A fraud lawyer starts with the main question: was there intent to deceive before the counterparty received the money or property. Non-performance of a contract is not in itself fraud: the offence under Article 190 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan requires intent to deceive or abuse of trust that arose before obtaining another's property. If a contractor took payment, honestly purchased materials, but missed the deadline because of illness or a price rise, that is a dispute about money, not a crime.

The line lies at the moment: was the deception planned from the outset, or did he become unable to perform later. In practice this can be seen from the documents — what the person said and did at the time of the transaction and immediately afterwards. The dispute is heard in civil proceedings where there are no signs of initial deception, only a breach of terms.

The court assesses the conduct of the parties before and after the transaction, not merely the fact of non-payment or a missed deadline.

Fraud lawyer and defence advocate: who can act as defence counsel

A fraud case is an area where the defence is conducted by an advocate: a person with an advocate's licence and certificate, whose authority in a specific case is confirmed by an order (warrant). It is the advocate who is admitted to participate from the moment of actual detention or when a person is recognised as a suspect, who reviews the case materials, files motions and appeals procedural decisions.

A fraud lawyer without advocate status is not entitled to conduct a criminal defence, but their role is not zero. Such a specialist prepares a legal analysis of the contract and correspondence, gathers documents, helps build a position and assess the risks before the case even reaches the investigation stage. Proper preparation at this stage often determines how the conversation with the investigator will go.

• reviews contracts, acts and correspondence
• gathers documents and accounting evidence
• prepares written explanations and a position
• assesses civil-law and criminal risks

Suspicion of fraud: first steps with a lawyer

If you have received a phone call or a summons for questioning, it is important to understand: before the first interrogation, a suspect has the right to meet defence counsel in private. This is not a formality — at such a meeting the fraud lawyer establishes exactly what is being alleged, what documents the investigation already has, and together with you decides what position to take. Turning up for questioning without defence counsel or 'just explaining the situation' is the most costly mistake at this stage.

The right not to incriminate yourself always applies: you may refuse to give testimony, and this will not be an admission of guilt. If the interrogation is already under way and the fraud lawyer has not yet joined, you are entitled to state that you need defence counsel and not to sign the protocol until they arrive. Write down what is being asked and what papers you are given to sign — these details later help to challenge pressure and incorrectly recorded wording.

• Check your status in the protocol: witness or suspect.
• Do not sign explanations before consulting defence counsel.
• Keep contracts, correspondence, receipts and bank statements.
• Do not discuss the case with other persons involved and do not delete files.

How a fraud lawyer rebuts intent to deceive

The investigation considers intent proven if it sees: money received but no counter-performance, the contractor has disappeared, documents signed with a backdated date, funds withdrawn to personal accounts. A fraud lawyer examines each such indicator: real work was carried out under the contract, materials were purchased, correspondence shows that the person did not go into hiding but demanded payment or explained the delay.

Intent is rebutted not with words but with documents: acts, delivery notes, receipts, correspondence, witness testimony. How the money was spent is the key argument: if the funds went on purchases, rent, wages and not on oneself, this indicates the absence of deception. A fraud lawyer builds this picture before the first interrogation so that the investigation does not substitute a criminal case for a civil dispute.

• contract, estimate, acts of completed work
• messages in messengers and email
• bank statements: where the money went
• witnesses: partners, employees, clients

Legal assistance in fraud cases: what a victim should do with a lawyer in the first hours

Every hour counts: legal assistance in fraud cases in the first 24 hours often decides whether the funds come back or not. First — call the bank and demand that the disputed transaction be stopped. In parallel, record everything: screenshots of messages, receipts, the statement, the recipient's details, the phone number and the link.

The report is filed with the police and registered in the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations — from that moment the pre-trial investigation begins, and within its framework a motion to seize the money is filed. The victim has the right to a representative and may file a civil claim, so a lawyer's help in fraud cases is useful from the first hours: a seizure motion prevents the money from being withdrawn.

The earlier the package is assembled, the higher the chance the seizure will be imposed while the funds are still in the account:

• Call the bank and demand that the disputed transfer be blocked
• Take screenshots of the messages, receipts and the bank statement
• Write down the recipient's details, the number and the link
• File a report with the police and a motion to the investigator to seize the money

Save all data in one place, do not delete chats and notifications

Fraud report: what it must contain

A fraud report in Almaty is filed with the district police department at the place where the act was committed or at the victim's place of residence. Set out the chronology: when and under what circumstances you handed over money or property, who was present, what the suspect promised. State the transfer details: bank, account or card number, date, amount, purpose of payment. Attach copies of the contract, receipts, cheques, screenshots of correspondence and a card statement. Any body of internal affairs is obliged to accept the report: it is registered, a notification slip is issued and the information is entered in the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations.

After filing, you are recognised as a victim — this gives you the right to review the case materials, file motions and appeal against the investigator's actions. A mistake is to file a report without documents: the investigation will drag on, and some evidence will be lost in the meantime. A fraud lawyer helps gather evidence and ensures that all necessary checks are carried out in the case.

• Chronology: date, time, place, participants
• Details: bank, account, amount, purpose
• Attachments: contract, receipt, cheques, correspondence
• Notification slip: confirmation of registration
• Victim status: rights and obligations

Internet and phone fraud: how a lawyer recovers money through the bank

If you transferred money following a call "from the bank", through a fake online shop or under an advertisement, you need to act immediately: a written application to the bank demanding that the transaction be stopped and the funds returned, as well as preserving correspondence, cheques and account numbers. The bank may suspend a suspicious transfer and request information about the recipient, but it has no right to unfreeze someone else's money or return it without a criminal case.

An investigation that has been opened makes it possible to request the movement of money through the recipient's account and the cardholder's data: the bank discloses information constituting banking secrecy to the investigating body, and a fraud lawyer secures such requests through motions and files a civil claim. The sooner the victim applies, the higher the chance that the funds will not have been withdrawn and distributed along the chain. Gathering evidence by a fraud lawyer matters more here than waiting: correspondence, screenshots, audio recordings of calls, details and IP addresses are preserved regardless of how the bank behaves.

• Screenshots of correspondence and the advertisement, a link to the fake shop
• A cheque or transfer statement with the recipient's details
• An audio recording of the call "from the bank" and the number it came from
• Full name, IIN and contacts that the fraudster provided

A "drop" card: the holder's liability

If the card is registered in your name and the money received on it turned out to belong to others or was transferred to fraudsters, questions will be put to the account holder. Liability is possible where the person understood that the card was needed for deception or for laundering other people's transfers, and disposed of the funds. Where the card was given to a relative or acquaintance and you did not know about the criminal scheme, the issue is your lack of awareness, and a fraud lawyer builds the defence on precisely that.

The danger is not in handing over the card itself, but in the fact that victims' payments pass through it, and their reports form the basis of the charge. Even a simple request to "receive a transfer and withdraw cash" turns the holder into a person in the case. The sooner the holder, together with a lawyer, explains the origin of the card, the correspondence and the transfers, the greater the chance of separating him from the scheme.

• Keep the correspondence about handing over the card and passwords.
• Collect account statements for the entire period.
• Write down the details of the person you gave the card to.
• Do not transfer or close the account before consulting a lawyer.

Real estate and power of attorney fraud: a lawyer's work

Real estate fraud is almost always linked to forged documents: powers of attorney in the name of an owner who never intended to sell the flat, or a contract signed using a copy of someone else's ID. Double selling looks different — the property is sold to two buyers and money is taken from both, although ownership can pass to only one. A fraud lawyer works through the chain of transactions, identifies the point of forgery and builds the defence of the person accused, or the position of the victim who has lost their home.

The criminal case runs in parallel with the civil one: the victim files a claim to have the transaction declared invalid and applies for the disputed property to be seized so that the flat is not resold to a third party. For the accused, it is important to show as early as possible that they acted within the contract or became a victim of a front seller, otherwise the seizure of property and pressure from the investigation will close off the chance to calmly prove their innocence.

• a certificate of registered rights to real estate from the Legal Cadastre and all contracts in the chain
• the power of attorney and an opinion on forgery (handwriting examination)
• correspondence on negotiations and receipts for the transfer of money
• the registration slip for the statement and information on the start of the pre-trial investigation in the ERDR

Financial pyramids: how a fraud lawyer helps depositors

When depositors of a financial pyramid are left without their money, scattered reports to the police often produce no result: creating and running a financial (investment) pyramid is a separate offence under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which sits alongside fraud. A fraud lawyer brings the victims together, prepares a collective statement, secures the consolidation of the materials into a single proceeding and the recognition of each of them as a victim. Access to the case and the right to make claims depend on victim status.

At the same time, the lawyer seeks the seizure of the organisers' property — the application is made to the investigator, and the seizure is authorised by an investigating judge — so that flats, cars and accounts do not disappear before the verdict. The recovered funds are distributed among the victims in proportion to the confirmed amounts of damage, which is why it is so important to keep contracts, receipts and correspondence:

• contracts, receipts, payment slips for contributions
• screenshots of the personal account and correspondence
• bank statements and payment documents
• contacts of other depositors

Cybercrime lawyer: account hacks and online fraud

Hacking an email, a social media account or a banking app is not only the theft of money but also unlawful access to information, which is already the domain of a cybercrime lawyer. If a person is accused of hacking, the key question becomes access: who, when and from which device logged into someone else's profile. The defence is built on the technical side — IP logs, devices, session times — and not only on the explanations of the parties.

For a victim of hacking, a cybercrime lawyer helps to secure digital evidence before it disappears: correspondence, bank notifications, screenshots with dates, information on debits. It is better not to clean out correspondence, not to reinstall devices, and to record the screen and its contents in an inspection report with a specialist present. Then come requests to the mobile operator and the bank, seizure of storage media and examination. The victim's mistake is to delete the 'unnecessary' themselves and lose the trail.

• screenshots with a visible date and time
• exports of logins and devices
• notifications and card debits
• saved emails and messages without edits

Civil claim and seizure of the guilty party's property

A victim recovers money in two ways: through a civil claim in the criminal case and through enforcement of the verdict in the part concerning compensation for damage. The claim is filed after being recognised as a victim — to the investigator or to the court hearing the fraud case — and is considered together with the charge, so a fraud lawyer prepares the calculation of damage, supports it with payment documents and applies for interim measures at the same time as the claim.

The seizure of the accused's property — accounts, real estate, cars, shares in companies — is imposed by an investigating judge on the application of the investigation body, agreed with the prosecutor, otherwise by the time of the verdict there will be nothing to recover. Once the verdict enters into force, the writ of execution is sent to a private or state court enforcement officer, who recovers the money, sells the seized property and directs enforcement against the debtor's earnings and accounts.

• application to be recognised as a victim and a civil claim in a criminal case
• documents on the damage: contracts, receipts, bank statements, correspondence
• motion to seize the accused's property to secure the claim
• writ of execution and the work of the court enforcement officer after the verdict

Lawyer consultation on fraud: what to prepare for a meeting with a lawyer

For a fraud consultation, bring everything related to money and arrangements: contracts and their annexes, invoices, payment orders, cheques, receipts, correspondence in messengers and by email, screenshots of adverts and profiles. For the accused, it is useful to take the summons, the protocols, the credit file, the constituent documents and bank statements for the disputed transactions; for the victim, the police report with the stub or notification of registration, the card statement, the recipient's details, and correspondence with the fraudster.

If there are many documents, send scans or photos in advance and keep the originals with you. After a lawyer's consultation on fraud, it becomes clear whether the case shows signs of deception or whether the dispute is merely about non-performance of a contract, what actions must be taken urgently — interrogation, bank, seizure of accounts, interim measures — and what evidence you will have to collect yourself.

• Copies of contracts, invoices and receipts
• Bank statements and payment documents
• Correspondence and screenshots of profiles
• Copy of the police report and the registration stub
• Summons or protocol, if you have them

Lawyer's services for fraud: what the cost consists of

The cost of a lawyer's services for fraud depends on the volume of work in a specific case, not on an hourly rate.

The price is affected by: your procedural status — suspect, accused or victim; the stage at which the defence lawyer joined; the number of episodes and persons involved; the volume of documents and expert examinations; the need for a civil claim, seizure of property and work with banks. In cases involving cards, contracts and real estate, most of the work is collecting and analysing evidence of deception. The list of work included in a lawyer's services for fraud depends on your situation:

• Analysis of the case materials and development of the position for the defence or prosecution
• Participation in interrogations, searches and other investigative actions
• Preparation and filing of applications, motions and complaints
• Collection of documents, work with banks and experts
• Representation in court and support in enforcing the decision

Contacting a lawyer early preserves your position: at an interrogation it is important not to make excuses, but to give testimony that will not turn a dispute over a contract into deception.