On August 14, 2025, the Rahat Palace Hotel in Almaty hosted the 4th annual IT Law Forum — Central Asia’s flagship event at the intersection of law and technology. The forum brought together legal professionals, IT industry leaders, government officials, business executives, and academics to address the legal dimensions of artificial intelligence, data protection, and digital sovereignty.

In an era of rapid technological advancement and escalating cyber threats, the forum served as a premier platform for exchanging expertise and presenting concrete solutions to pressing challenges in law and technology.

Participants included representatives from the Prosecutor General’s Office of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry, the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Almaty City Court, as well as executives from Freedom Holding Corp., GRATA International, DRCQ, TrustMe, Documentolog, Legal Click, Choco Holding, Sergek, DataArt, and leading universities.

A highlight of the event was the signing of a cooperation agreement between the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) and SDU University to introduce new academic courses into the university’s curriculum. The initiative is supported by the Freedom Shapagat Foundation.

Erszhan Yesimkhanov, Partner at GRATA International and one of the forum’s keynote speakers, remarked:
“The era of artificial intelligence is already reshaping legislation and the legal profession. In the coming years, we must redefine the balance between the interests of the state, business, and citizens so that technology serves society rather than harms it.”

Among the attendees were partners of international law firms, senior executives of Kazakhstan’s largest companies, government representatives, innovators, and academic leaders, including:

• Finance and business: National Bank of Kazakhstan, Bereke Bank, Home Credit Bank, Air Astana, Kolesa Group, BASF, ABB, Freedom Holding Corp., Lotte Rakhat, Kazatomprom, Aviata, CTH Group, WSPN, YDA;

• Law firms: Salus Legal, AEQUITAS, Centil Law, GRATA International, RUDIS, Linkage & Mind, Astrea KZ, Ad Lex Consult, Mizan Law Firm, ARX Patent & Law, Zhizhin Legal Studio, ZL Law Firm, AGAG Inc., AGKA;

• IT and fintech companies: Bitrix24, JetPay.kz, 1Fit, AbrTech, Green Leaves Payments, Process Lab, Sensata Group, Sensata Almaty, Viled Fashion, Cloud Centre, biometric.vision, ISDR LLC, Kipros LLP, OV Tech Limited, OneVision Limited;

• Universities: Narxoz University, AlmaU, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, KBTU, Astana IT University, SDU University, Caspian University, Turan University, Kazakh National Women’s Teacher Training University, Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan.

The forum’s program focused on four key areas:

1. IT Law — regulation of the digital environment, e-services, digital sovereignty, and technology ethics.

2. Cybersecurity & Privacy — safeguarding critical infrastructure, personal data, and privacy.

3. Intellectual Property — protecting the rights of developers and innovative companies.

4. AI & Legal Tech — integrating artificial intelligence and digital tools into legal practice.

In total, 16 speakers delivered insights across 4 panel discussions.
Once again, the IT Law Forum reaffirmed its status as Kazakhstan’s leading professional platform shaping the future legal and technological agenda.