Dual Citizenship Scandal Surfaces Amid Corporate Raiding Allegations in Shymkent

In 2021, blogger Aigul Orynbek accused Oleg Pochivalov, then head of Shymkent’s sports department, of holding dual citizenship — Kazakhstani and Russian — which is prohibited by law.

Pochivalov denied the claims and filed a lawsuit, but the court ruled against him. 

He was stripped of his Kazakhstani citizenship and dismissed from his post.

The court found that Oleg Vladimirovich Pochivalov acquired Russian citizenship. This fact is confirmed by a letter from the Shymkent Department of the National Security Committee and a response from the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. The applicant, Pochivalov, and his representative failed to provide the court with any refutation of this fact. Therefore, the court found no violation of the law by the Shymkent Police Department in the execution and issuance of the decision contested by the applicant regarding the loss of citizenship against Pochivalov. Consequently, the court has no right or basis to overturn it,
 Judge Nurgali Ismailov said in February 2021.

Despite this, the Kazakhstan Sport Shooting Federation still listed him as its Secretary General.

Recently, new claims emerged from Elena Shilkova, the wife of a Shymkent businessman, who alleges that dual citizenship is common in the Pochivalov family. She says Oleg’s sister, Oksana Sereda, held both Kazakh and Russian passports until at least June of this year, reportedly issued in Krasnodar.

Shilkova presented screenshots from the state services app as proof. Sereda heads the local Clay Pigeon Shooting Federation. According to Shilkova, another brother also has dual citizenship and works as a shooting coach.

Corporate Raiding Allegations

Elena Shilkova is the wife of Andrey Shilkov, the former president of JSC Ontustik MunayGaz, who is currently facing trial on three charges: payments to "dead souls," fictitious transport contracts totaling over one billion tenge, and failure to pay taxes.

She says this is a corporate raiding scheme involving Oksana Sereda and others.

Ontustik MunayGaz LLP, the founder of the joint-stock company, is co-owned by three parties: Shilkov’s niece Elena (50%), Oksana Sereda, and Nurzhamal Serikbayeva (25% each). Sereda’s and Serikbayeva’s husbands held vice president roles at the company.

According to Shilkova, in August 2024, Sereda and Serikbayeva forged the minutes of a shareholders’ meeting dated March 10, 2022. In those papers, the director of the LLP, Nail Kamaleev, was allegedly given authority to appoint the board of directors and replace the president of JSC Ontustik MunayGaz.

On September 9, Kamaleev appointed a new board that included Ivan Sereda and Saduakhas Miramanov. Eleven days later, the board removed Shilkov and installed Miramanov in his place.

My husband was on a business trip at the time. When he arrived, it turned out he was no longer the head of the company. His office was sealed, and security guards were posted at the entrance, but they wouldn't let him in. They wouldn't even give him his personal belongings, documents, or papers from the office. Then these raiders removed Andrey's niece, Elena, a shareholder in ONTUSTIK MUNAYGAZ LLP, from the company. They haven't provided her with any documents or reports, and her constitutionally guaranteed rights are being grossly violated. We started filing complaints about the corporate raid. But the police and the Department of Economic Investigations are ignoring our complaints. Meanwhile, they opened a criminal case against my husband at the first request,
 said Elena Shilkova.

She claims investigators refused to recognize shareholder Elena Shilkova (Andrey’s sister) as a victim, saying she has no direct link to the joint-stock company, while Oksana Sereda was recognized as a victim for reporting the alleged “dead souls.”

A state forensic analysis confirmed that the signatures in the disputed minutes were forged and the documents edited, but investigators did not take action.

All the accusations against my husband are unfounded. Not a single employment contract involving these so-called 'dead souls' has been invalidated. These people actually worked. They had jobs, and there are witnesses who say they actually fulfilled their duties. Regarding the money for transportation services, I'll give you one example. There's a document showing that one of the individual entrepreneurs, through which my husband allegedly simply siphoned off funds, transferred money to Oksana Sereda monthly. From 2021 to 2024, she received approximately 26 million tenge. This is in the criminal case file, even highlighted. But the investigation hasn't assessed this,
 said Shilkova.

She also claims her husband was pressured when reviewing the case file. An investigator allegedly filmed him and accused him of refusing access, despite his objections.

Trial and Appeal

The trial began last week in the Shymkent Interdistrict Criminal Court. Shilkov said he was denied access to the case materials. He was initially given three days to review 17 volumes. After objections, Judge Altyn Biltebay added one more day.

Elena says both investigators and prosecutors are ignoring procedural violations.

She says Oksana Sereda openly threatened to imprison Shilkov and seize his 50% share.

She has appealed to top officials, including President Toqayev.

I appeal to the President of the country, the Prosecutor General, the leadership of the National Security Committee, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I ask you to ensure a fair trial of this case. I believe and hope that 'A Just Kazakhstan' is not just empty words, but a reality!
Shilkova summed up.

Calls to Tighten Laws

The issue of dual citizenship was recently raised in the Majilis. On September 3, Deputy Bolatbek Nazhmetdinuly called for tougher penalties.

Anyone who hides their dual citizenship is no longer a Kazakhstani. They don't feel part of this country, don't think about Kazakhstan's future, and are waiting for the right moment to leave. They exercise their rights but don't fulfill their obligations as a citizen of Kazakhstan. They're not citizens; they're temporary residents with a suitcase mentality. I will initiate amendments to increase penalties, including criminal ones, for those with dual citizenship,
 he said.

Border officials recorded 91 dual citizenship cases crossing the Kazakh border in January alone, and 1,190 in 2024 overall.

Current penalties are limited to a fine of up to 300 MCI (around 690,000 tenge) or administrative deportation.

Original Author: Ilya Astakhov