13 Years of Struggle: How Bolat Nazarbayev Took Land from Students

More than a decade ago, Almaty Technological University (ATU) purchased a plot of land at the Nikolsky Bazaar, intending to build a dormitory and an academic building. However, the university ended up being entangled in years of legal battles. 

Orda.kz delves into the details.

Nikolsky Bazaar, one of Almaty’s oldest trading hubs, has long been at the center of property disputes and ownership conflicts.

In June 2011, ATU acquired a building of over 1,000 square meters, along with the land, from SauletT-Qurylys LLP for 583 million tenge. 

A fierce battle over the property began just a month later.

It later emerged that the land had been sold multiple times to different buyers. Behind these schemes were the former President’s brother and the leaders of a notorious organized crime group under Bolat Nazarbayev’s protection. The rightful owners have been denied access to their legally purchased land and have already appealed to multiple courts, university representatives stated at a press conference.

As it turned out, the land ATU had purchased was actually owned by Dar-Stroy LLP.

The latter took the matter to court, demanding the return of the property. The court initially dismissed the claim, but an appellate later ruled in favor of Dar-Stroy, declaring the purchase agreement invalid.

The legal battle didn’t end there.

A year later, the court ordered the land to be restored to its original condition.

Despite this ruling, in 2013, SauletT-Qurylys LLP sold the property again to Obsluzhivaniye i ekspluatatsiya zhilischno-delovoi slobody LLP (Maintenance and Operation of the Housing and Business Sloboda LLP – Ed.).

By August 2015, the land and building had changed hands once more, ending up in the possession of Bolat Nazarbayev, the younger brother of Kazakhstan’s former President.

On November 12, 2021, Bolat Nazarbayev sold the property to Nikolsky Investment LLP, a company founded just a day before the transaction, on November 11, 2021, with an initial capital of 100,000 tenge. The firm’s founder was Aidos Kospayev, a key figure in the high-profile criminal case against the Kospayev organized crime group. From 2022 to 2023, its director was Yerlan Imashev, another convicted individual in the same case.

Despite a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the university, ATU has yet to regain access to the land. The institution now plans to take legal action once again.

In December 2024, reports surfaced of an illegal attempt to sell Nikolsky Bazaar to foreign investors. The asset was controlled by Yeldos Kospayev, Bolat Nazarbayev’s right-hand man. The court has since ordered its confiscation.

The verdict in the Kospayev organized crime group case was handed down on January 28, 2025.

Original Author: Zhadra Zhulmukhametova