Timur Turlov is the founder and chief executive of Freedom Holding Corp., a Nasdaq-listed financial group that has grown from a brokerage business into a wider digital services company. Freedom now operates in banking, securities trading, insurance, payments, telecommunications, travel, and online consumer services. Its strongest market is Kazakhstan, where the company has built a large customer base and connected many of its products through the Freedom SuperApp.
Founded as Freedom Finance in 2008, the business initially helped investors gain access to U.S. securities markets. It entered Kazakhstan in 2012 and later expanded into banking and insurance. Freedom Holding’s shares began trading on Nasdaq in October 2019 under the ticker FRHC, increasing the company’s international visibility and public-reporting responsibilities.
Who Is Timur Turlov?
Timur Turlov was born in 1987 and began working in financial markets while still a teenager. He later gained brokerage experience at Uniastrum Bank before founding Freedom Finance at the age of 21.
Turlov is now based in Almaty and remains the controlling shareholder of Freedom Holding. His leadership has focused on connecting financial services with products that customers use in daily life.
Outside business, Turlov has supported education, chess, youth football, culture, and environmental projects. He became president of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation in 2023 and has helped fund school chess programs and international competitions.
How Freedom Holding Works
Freedom Holding’s business model brings several services under one corporate group. Customers may use Freedom for investing, banking, insurance, payments, travel bookings, event tickets, groceries, or telecommunications.
Brokerage remains an important part of the company. Freedom reported 858,000 brokerage accounts as of March 31, 2026, up from 683,000 one year earlier. Its services include retail investing, institutional brokerage, research, investment banking, and access to international securities markets.
Banking has become the group’s largest source of customer growth. Freedom Bank Kazakhstan offers deposits, cards, mortgages, car loans, consumer credit, and business financing. The company reported approximately 5.03 million banking customers at the end of fiscal 2026.
Freedom also operates insurance and payment businesses. Its insurance companies provide motor, property, health, life, and liability coverage, while Freedom Pay processes digital transactions for merchants and customers.
The group’s consumer services include Aviata for travel, Ticketon for event tickets, and Arbuz.kz for online groceries. Freedom has also invested in telecommunications infrastructure through Freedom Telecom.
The Freedom SuperApp
The Freedom SuperApp is designed to connect the company’s banking and consumer services in one application. Users can manage accounts, make payments, apply for selected financial products, book travel, buy tickets, and access other services.
By March 2026, Freedom reported about 5.2 million registered SuperApp users. Monthly active users reached 2.59 million, compared with 1.02 million a year earlier. This growth suggests that many customers are using the application regularly rather than simply registering once.
Kazakhstan has served as the main testing market for the SuperApp model. Freedom’s next challenge is adapting the system for countries with different banking rules, consumer habits, privacy requirements, and competitors.
Financial Growth and Expansion
For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, Freedom Holding reported revenue of $2.19 billion and net income of $153.3 million. Total assets reached approximately $13.16 billion, while shareholders’ equity stood at about $1.49 billion.
The company’s income comes from several sources, including interest, brokerage fees, insurance, consumer services, securities trading, and derivatives. Some of these sources may change sharply from year to year, so profit should be assessed alongside customer growth and recurring revenue.
Freedom completed the acquisition of a controlling interest in Turkish Bank A.Ş. in July 2026. The deal gives the group an established banking platform in Türkiye, including licences, staff, infrastructure, and customer relationships.
The company also applied for a banking licence in France in June 2026. Turlov discussed plans to invest about €500 million in a French digital financial system, though the project remained subject to regulatory approval.
Freedom raised approximately $300 million through a share offering in July 2026. The funding can support expansion, but issuing additional shares may reduce the ownership percentage of existing shareholders.
Benefits and Risks
Freedom Holding has helped expand digital access to banking, investing, insurance, and payments in Kazakhstan. Its connected system can save customers time by reducing the need to use separate providers for every service.
The company has also shown that a business developed mainly in Central Asia can attract international customers and trade on a major U.S. exchange. Its growth has supported local technology development, employment, education, sport, and cultural projects.
There are still risks. Freedom operates in tightly regulated industries and faces credit, market, cybersecurity, and compliance demands. The company and Turlov also disclosed receiving a Wells Notice connected with an SEC investigation. A Wells Notice is not a final finding of wrongdoing, and Freedom has disputed the staff’s position.
Freedom has also reported concentrated exposure to a small number of large margin-lending customers. The loans are supported by collateral, but collateral may not remove all risk during sudden market declines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who founded Freedom Holding?
Timur Turlov founded Freedom Finance in 2008. The business later became part of Freedom Holding Corp., where he remains chief executive and controlling shareholder.
What does Freedom Holding do?
The group provides brokerage, banking, insurance, payments, telecommunications, travel, ticketing, and other digital services. Available products vary by country.
Is Freedom Holding a Kazakhstan company?
The parent company is incorporated in Nevada and trades on Nasdaq. Kazakhstan is its largest operating market and the center of its banking and SuperApp activities.
How many customers does Freedom have?
As of March 31, 2026, Freedom reported about 5.03 million banking customers and 858,000 brokerage accounts. Its SuperApp had approximately 5.2 million registered users.
Is Freedom expanding outside Kazakhstan?
Yes. It operates in more than 20 countries, acquired a controlling stake in Turkish Bank in 2026, and applied for a French banking licence.
Is Freedom Holding risk-free?
No. It faces regulatory, credit, market, cybersecurity, and expansion risks. Customers and investors should review the terms and risks of each product carefully.
Conclusion
Timur Turlov has built Freedom Holding from a small brokerage into a large financial and digital services group. Its strongest results have come from Kazakhstan, where millions of customers use its banking and SuperApp products.
The company’s expansion into Türkiye and its plans for France create new opportunities. They also require careful management, strong controls, and close cooperation with regulators.
Freedom’s future will depend on whether it can turn rapid customer growth into stable earnings and lasting trust. Its progress so far shows how a Central Asian financial company can build an international presence while remaining closely connected to its home market.
