Deputy Head of Almaty Region Prison Suspected of Bribery

On November 13, specialized prosecutors and National Security Committee officers detained the deputy head of KUIS institution No. 14, Orda.kz reports.

He is suspected of repeatedly accepting bribes.

As part of the criminal case, the necessary investigative actions are being carried out aimed at establishing all the circumstances of the incident, The Almaty Region Prosecutor's Office commented.

Other details are not being disclosed in the interests of the investigation.

The colony is located in Zarechny near Qonayev. In July, a special operation led to the arrest of several prisoners from Colony No. 14, suspected of extortion and violence against other convicts. 

The investigation believes that the colony's "overseer" Yernaz Makulbayev, with Timur Sagandykov and Merey Suleimen, extorted money and exerted pressure on prisoners, forcing them to pay their debts.

Since August 2023, the Prosecutor's Office has been investigating cases of extortion and corruption in the colonies of Almaty and the Almaty region.

Investigators discovered that prisoners and their relatives have carried out numerous transactions totaling more than five billion tenge over the past year and a half. This money was used to buy food, cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs, as well as to bribe correctional facility employees.

In July 2024, the head of the State Penitentiary Service for the North Kazakhstan region was arrested for receiving a bribe of one million tenge.

Original Author: Alina Pak