Aibek Kospayev Denies Involvement in Organized Crime

Aibek Kospayev, the brother of Yeldos Kospayev — once referred to as the "right hand" of Bolat Nazarbayev — spoke in court, declaring that he did not participate in any organized crime group and is innocent of raiding and extortion, Orda.kz reports.

State prosecutor Aktore Berikov had earlier requested a 12-year imprisonment for Aibek Kospayev.

One of the accusations made against him was his alleged participation in an organized crime group (OCG) led by his brother Yeldos.

They call us an organized crime group. We are all brothers. It turns out that any person who has a family, according to the prosecutor's logic, can be considered a member of an organized crime group, and his entire family is an organized criminal group,
said the defendant. 

He also expressed dissatisfaction with the prosecutor's request to confiscate his property.

This is robbery. I bought it, it's mine. And according to the prosecutor's inner conviction and because someone there thought so, they now want to rob me, take away what's mine, what I earned. And so that I can't be heard, they slander me here, make me out to be a scoundrel who got everything by criminal means, that I go around cursing people. What is this?!

He insisted that the resonance around his and his brothers’ cases was artificially created by the Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA).

Addressing the charge of extortion — the most serious charge, for which the prosecutor requested 10 years of imprisonment — Aibek Kospayev referred to the Nur market in the Almaty region:

This market is located in some collective farm. I have never been to this collective farm in my life, why would I need this?
he said. 

The defendant’s lawyer, Amanzhol Mukhamedyarov — who also defended his brothers Yeldos and Aidos — stated in court that Aibek Kospayev was a victim of circumstances, the charges were unproven, and the defendant should be acquitted on all counts.

Outside the formal court proceedings, Mukhamedyarov pointed out a curious detail:

From the first days after Yeldos and Aidos Kospayev were charged, the media had described them as assistants of Bolat Nazarbayev, the brother of Kazakhstan’s first president.

Yeldos has been repeatedly called Bolat Nazarbayev’s "right hand" or even "Nazarbayev’s Ludayed (Man-eater - Ed.)."

However, not a single member of Bolat Nazarbayev’s family appeared in court. Mukhamedyarov noted that it would be logical for the sons and other close relatives of the now-deceased Bolat Abishevich Nazarbayev to have knowledge of his dealings.

We did not see a single member of that family in the dock or in court at all. The charges against the defendant's brother, Yeldos Kospayev, were that he allegedly took advantage of Bolat Abishevich Nazarbayev's trust, allegedly deceived him and did such and such things behind his back. We would like to see Nurbol Nazarbayev questioned — Bolat's son, Manat Aitmukhambetov, who is considered to be Bolat Nazarbayev's illegitimate son,
 the lawyer emphasized.

According to him, they sought to question several people, but many witnesses were "hidden" from them. 

The supposed victims are individuals who had ordinary business dealings with the Kospayevs before the January events, but after those events, "changed their slippers" and became witnesses or victims, as the lawyer put it.

Aibek Kospayev has been charged under several articles:

• Article 262, p. 2 — "Participation in an organized group or criminal organization," It is assumed that Aibek was part of the Kospayev brothers' criminal group, accused of forcibly seizing businesses and illegal enrichment.
• Article 249, p. 3, cl. 1 — "Raiding," connected to the seizure of AV Construction.
• Article 218, p. 3, cl. 2, 3 — "Legalization (laundering) of money and/or property obtained by criminal means."
• Article 189, p. 4, cl. 1, 2 — "Misappropriation or embezzlement of entrusted property." This and the previous articles are related to the acquisition by the Kospayev brothers and their “organized criminal group” of apartments and non-residential premises in the Esentai City residential complex in Almaty.
• Article 214, p. 2, cl. 1 — "Illegal entrepreneurship, illegal banking, microfinance, or collection activities."
• Article 233, p. 2 — "Manufacture or acquisition for the purpose of sale, as well as the use or sale of knowingly counterfeit means of identification and/or control stamps," related to the illegal trade in unregistered alcohol.
• Article 194, p. 4, cl 1, 2 — "Extortion committed by a criminal group on an especially large scale," linked to the alleged takeover of the "Nur" market in the village of Shamalgan in the Almaty region

Original Author: Anastasia Prilepskaya