Elite Almaty Land Plot Reclaimed by State After Confiscation Reversal

A high-profile criminal case from 2017 has resurfaced in Almaty, involving the illegal retention of valuable property, Orda reports.

The Almaty Prosecutor's Office recently announced the restitution of a land plot with luxury cottages valued at over one billion tenge to the state. This asset had remained under private control despite a prior court-ordered confiscation.​

In 2017, the court sentenced members of an organized crime group and false entrepreneurs to various prison terms. They caused damage to the state amounting to 27.7 billion tenge. As part of the case, land plots with buildings were confiscated. However, the Prosecutor's Office discovered that one of the properties had not been transferred to the state for over two years, and its confiscation was illegally terminated,
the supervisory authority explained. 

Consequently, the property remained in the possession of one of the convicts until the Akimat recently facilitated its transfer to state ownership.​ 

While the prosecutor's office did not disclose specific names in response to our inquiry, sources confirmed that the case is linked to an organized crime group associated with Amirkhan Amanbayev.​

Background

The criminal operation involved a sophisticated scheme where billions of tenge were funneled through fictitious companies to evade taxes, with the illicit funds subsequently laundered into high-end real estate acquisitions.

Assets implicated in the case included expansive land plots featuring luxury constructions, one notably equipped with a helipad.​

Among those convicted was Amirkhan Amanbayev, the former head of the Almaty financial police, who received a 14-year prison sentence for organizing a criminal community and participating in illegal activities.

However, Amanbayev's legal team successfully appealed portions of the initial verdict. 

Neither the general nor the 35 other convicted men admitted their guilt. They claimed they were victims of defamation, revenge, and personal hostility from former colleagues, now Antikor employees.

The appellate court dismissed four charges against him, citing insufficient evidence while upholding the conviction for abuse of office. 

Amanbayev was ultimately released following the appellate decision.​ 

In June 2024, Orda.kz journalists met with the convicted former head of the Almaty Department for Combating Economic and Corruption Crime, Major Daniyar Abdiyev, to learn the details of the high-profile case of Amanbayev's organized crime group.

Abdiyev spoke positively of him, calling him a professional:

He was always polite with his subordinates, was open and sociable for everyone, for which he was respected in society. He shook hands with all employees, which cannot be said about Kozhamzharov...

Original Authors: Daniel Arturov and Zarina Fayzulina