13 Billion Tenge Worth of State Land Illegally Sold in Almaty

In Almaty, a former employee of the "Government for Citizens" state corporation has been convicted of fraudulently acquiring and selling state-owned land worth 13.6 billion tenge, Orda.kz reports.

The case was investigated by the Department of Economic Investigations, which identified the perpetrator as Abdizhaparov, who exploited his inside knowledge of Kazakhstan’s land registration system while working for the state.

By decrees of the Akimat, land plots at 67 Zhukov Street (2.3 hectares) and 77 Zhamakayev Street (6.3 hectares) had been temporarily transferred to the SEC Almaty for five years. However, Abdizhaparov forged documents to make it appear as though these lands had been privatized — despite no such decision being made by the Akimat, the Financial Monitoring Agency stated. 

Abdizhaparov re-registered the plots under his own company, “Aisha Group,” and later sold them to third parties for 1.3 billion tenge.

The court found him guilty of large-scale fraud and sentenced him to seven years in prison. The illegally sold land — now valued at 13.6 billion tenge — has since been returned to the state.

Authorities plan to use the reclaimed site for the development of an innovation hub.

Original Author: Zarina Fayzulina