50 Million Clients: Freedom Holding’s Plans to Expand Across Europe

Freedom Holding Corp. has applied for a banking license in France and is prepared to invest €500 million in building a digital bank and developing digital infrastructure in the country. The company views France as a key growth hub in Europe and intends to use the license to scale its financial ecosystem across the entire European Union.

France could become a crucial element in the further development of Freedom’s ecosystem in Europe. A banking license would allow the company to expand its range of financial services and accelerate business growth throughout the EU. According to Freedom Holding founder and CEO, Timur Turlov, the company had long explored opportunities to launch banking operations in Europe, but most countries responded to its interest only formally, whereas France demonstrated “clear enthusiasm.”

“In Kazakhstan, we provide various services to roughly half of the population. We believe the technologies that helped us grow there can deliver similar results in Europe,” Turlov said.

Obtaining a French banking license is strategically important for Freedom because the French banking regulator, ACPR, works jointly with the European Central Bank. In practice, such a license would grant the company access to operate throughout the European Union. Over the next three years, Freedom aims to attract up to 50 million potential clients and invest €500 million in its European expansion.

A Kazakh Broker in Europe

Freedom Holding already operates in Europe through its Freedom24 platform and its subsidiary brokerage firm, Freedom Finance Europe, which is licensed by the Cypriot regulator and serves clients across the European Union.

Freedom24 provides access to a wide range of investment instruments, including stocks, ETFs, bonds, options, and futures. Clients can invest in major stock exchanges across the United States, Europe, and Asia.

By the end of 2025, the number of active Freedom24 clients exceeded 440,000, while client assets reached $11 billion. The company operates offices in nine European countries and continues to expand its presence across the continent.

Previously, Freedom Europe CEO Evgeny Tyapkin noted that the next stage of the company’s European development would extend beyond brokerage services.

“We want to move beyond the traditional brokerage model. The next phase of growth in Europe is about expanding the entire client ecosystem around it. In this context, banking services are the key priority,” he said.

Profit Growth

The European division remains one of the group’s most profitable assets. In 2025, Freedom Finance Europe’s net commission income increased to $369 million, compared with $190 million two years earlier.

During the same period, profit before tax rose from $139 million to $284 million, while net profit reached $253 million. As a result, the profitability of the European business more than doubled within two years.

The holding attributes this growth to an expanding client base, a broader product offering, and increasing investment activity among European investors.

Expansion into Turkey

In 2025, Freedom obtained a license to launch Freedom Yatırım, a brokerage company in Turkey. Later, the holding signed an agreement to acquire 99.32% of Turkish Bank A.Ş. Once the transaction is completed, the company will gain a full banking platform in a market of approximately 90 million people.

Timur Turlov previously stated that Freedom intends to invest around $300 million in developing its Turkish banking and brokerage operations.

The company plans to replicate in Turkey the model that proved successful in Kazakhstan. The strategy begins with brokerage services, followed by banking infrastructure, and ultimately leads to a unified digital ecosystem and a SuperApp offering investment, payment, and lifestyle services.

The Tajikistan Experience

In October 2024, Freedom Bank obtained a banking license in Tajikistan and launched a fully digital banking operation. Today, customers can pay for goods and services at more than 31,000 retail locations across the country through the Freedom SuperApp using a unified national QR code.

The company’s leadership has repeatedly described the Tajikistan project as a successful example of transferring its Kazakhstan-developed model to a new market. Freedom already offers local customers payment services, bank cards, and digital financial products.

Annual Results

For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, Freedom Holding reported $2.19 billion in revenue, compared with $2.04 billion a year earlier.

Profit before tax amounted to $226 million, while net profit more than doubled to $153.3 million. Earnings per share reached $2.56.

The company’s total assets increased to $13.2 billion, while cash, investment securities, and other liquid assets reached $5.5 billion. Shareholders’ equity grew to $1.5 billion, and net cash flow from operating activities totaled $185.2 million.

One of the key growth drivers was the positive performance of trading securities operations. During the year, the company generated $158.8 million in profit from trading securities, compared with a $57.8 million loss the previous year. Additional contributions came from telecommunications, cloud services, and the continued development of e-commerce within the ecosystem.

The client base also continued to expand. The number of brokerage accounts reached 858,000, banking customers increased to 5 million, and the Freedom SuperApp audience surpassed 5.2 million users. The total number of customers across the group’s companies grew to 8.1 million. Including users of partner services, the ecosystem’s audience now exceeds 14 million people.

Commenting on the results, Timur Turlov noted that Freedom Holding continues to maintain strong growth momentum despite significant investments in new business lines, digital infrastructure, and international expansion.