Digital Transformation and Corruption Risks: An Applied Economic Analysis of Kazakhstan’s Banking Sector
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Dmitry MALAKHOV Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Astana, Kazakhstan
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Yergali MABIYEV Institute of Philosophy and Law of the National Academy of Sciences, Kyrgyz Republic
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Ruslan KENZHEBEKOV Institute of Philosophy and Law of the National Academy of Sciences, Kyrgyz Republic
This paper examines the dual impact of digitalization on the banking sector from 2013 to 2024, using factor analysis and applied economic modelling to assess how digital tools, regulatory frameworks, and institutional performance interact in shaping financial crime dynamics. The results reveal that while digitalization improves operational efficiency and monitoring capacity, it also exposes structural weaknesses that facilitate illicit activities. Policy implications emphasize the need for robust regulation, strategic governance, cybersecurity investment, and capacity building to ensure that digitalization serves as a driver of innovation, trust, and financial stability. This study contributes empirical evidence to the applied economics literature on the complex role of digitalization in both enabling and mitigating corruption risks in emerging markets.
Copyright© 2025 The Author(s). This article is distributed under the terms of the license CC-BY 4.0., which permits any further distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Article’s history: Received 25th of August, 2025; Revised 9th of September, 2025; Accepted 18th of September, 2025; Available online: 30th of September, 2025. Published as article in the Volume XX, Fall, Issue 3(89), 2025.
Omarova A., Kussainova L., Malakhov D., Mabiyev Ye., & Kenzhebekov R. (2025). Digital Transformation and Corruption Risks: An Applied Economic Analysis of Kazakhstan’s Banking Sector. Journal of Applied Economic Sciences, Volume XX, Fall, 3(87), 521 – 534. https://doi.org/10.57017/jaes.v20.3(89).10
Acknowledgments/Funding: This research was funded by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Grant No. AP19577066).
Conflict of Interest Statement: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. It is noted that Omarova, A. the publisher manager, is author of this paper. However, this position did not influence the editorial decision-making process. The manuscript was subject to independent peer review handled by a qualified editorial team member with no competing interests.
Data Availability Statement: The data that support the findings of this study were obtained from the following publicly available sources: National Bank of Kazakhstan – financial sector indicators and digital banking adoption rates: https://nationalbank.kz; Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market: https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/ardfm; World Bank, Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI): https://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi; Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI): https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi; Financial Action Task Force (FATF) reports: https://www.fatf-gafi.org. These third-party data are available at the respective institutional websites, subject to access policies. Processed datasets generated during the study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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