Founder and CEO of Freedom Holding Corp. Timur Turlov described Cyprus as the company’s “European gateway to global markets” during his address at the Sixth New York – Eastern Mediterranean Business Summit.
Held under the theme “Cyprus – Greece – Israel: Spurring Resilient and Multilateral Collaboration with the Region”, the summit was organised by The Economist and brought together key political and financial leaders from across the Eastern Mediterranean.
Freedom Holding Corp., a platinum sponsor of the event, champions cross-regional connectivity and uses modern technologies, including artificial intelligence, to make global financial markets more accessible.
Turlov highlighted Cyprus’ dual advantage as a geographical and regulatory bridge, particularly between the United States and Central Asia.
“We came to Cyprus because we were looking for a gateway that could translate between US and Kazakh regulatory languages,” he said.
“Cyprus made sense – it follows European regulation and shares a common law foundation similar to the US, making it easier to build trusted relationships and connect with global financial institutions.”
Cyprus now hosts the company’s European subsidiary, Freedom24, which provides access to over one million financial instruments worldwide, spanning major US stock exchanges and emerging markets.
Freedom Holding Corp. also operates in more than a dozen European countries, including France, Germany, Greece, and Spain.
In Kazakhstan, the firm has developed a full-scale financial and e-commerce ecosystem, including a fully digital bank, reinforcing its innovation-driven, customer-focused model.
Turlov launched the firm just after the 2008 financial crisis and listed it on Nasdaq in 2019, making it the first brokerage from the CIS region to do so.
Last week, the company’s market capitalisation surpassed $10 billion, with its stock reaching a record high of $169.35 – nearly 12 times its IPO price of $14.42 and a 2.4-fold increase over the past year.
Reflecting on the firm’s evolution, Turlov said, “At some point, we realised that operating solely as a brokerage wouldn’t be enough”.
“To stay competitive, we had to develop a comprehensive financial ecosystem,” he added.
Artificial intelligence plays a central role in this transformation. The company has introduced AI-driven compliance tools that reduce processing times for transactions and enhance regulatory efficiency.
“In our region, compliance is a complex and time-consuming task. With AI, we’ve significantly improved efficiency – clients no longer have to wait weeks for transaction approvals,” Turlov said.
Freedom Holding also leverages AI for predictive analytics to better anticipate customer needs.
“In Cyprus, we’ve built an AI laboratory that analyses data, often using US solutions, to create products tailored for the European and Central Asian markets,” he added.
Turlov concluded by emphasising the company’s international synergy.
“We’ve successfully integrated US standards, European expertise, and Kazakh talent,” he said.
“At this intersection – between the Eastern Mediterranean, Central Asia, Europe, and the US – we’ve found true synergy.”