Court Acquits Former Police Investigator in Mining Equipment Theft Case

The Kazybekbi District Court of Qaraganda has delivered its verdict in the case of Rustam Kulkeyev, the former head of the Investigative Department of the Qaraganda Region Police Department, accused of stealing mining equipment that had been entered as material evidence.

After reviewing the case, the court ruled that Kulkeyev was not guilty, Orda.kz reports.

According to investigators, instead of seizing the equipment through official channels, Kulkeyev organized its replacement with old monitors and system units. The original equipment was allegedly sold to local resident Alisher Akatayev for $50,000.

In total, 1,906 units were stolen, with damages exceeding 150 million tenge.

Also named as defendants were regional akimat employee Nikolai Kim and police investigator Aidyn Kanatov, both accused of playing roles in the scheme.

Kulkeyev, who had been on the wanted list for an extended period, was detained at his home shortly after the case was transferred to the Anti-Corruption Service (Anticor). In court, he insisted the charges were fabricated, while prosecutors sought eight years in prison.

The court instead found Aidyn Kanatov guilty of abuse of office and large-scale embezzlement, sentencing him to seven years in a medium-security colony, stripping him of his rank, and banning him from civil service for life.

Kim and Akatayev were sentenced to six years and eight months, later reduced under amnesty to five years and four months.

The guilt of Aydin Kanatov, Nikolai Kim, and Alisher Akatayev in committing the criminal offenses with which they were charged is confirmed by the seized material evidence, witness testimony, other written materials of the case, as well as video recordings and telephone conversations.

By court verdict, Rustam Kulkeyev was found not guilty of committing criminal offenses under Article 361, Part 4, Clause 3), 188, Part 4, Clause 3) of the Criminal Code, and acquitted due to lack of evidence that he had committed criminal offenses,
 the court stated.

The verdict has not yet entered into legal force.

Original Author: Raushan Korzhumbekova