Fake Journalists Tricked Karaganda Official Into Taking Out Loan

A deputy district akim in Karaganda took out a 2.5 million tenge loan and transferred the money to two people posing as journalists. They claimed to have a damaging video about the akimat and promised not to publish it in exchange for payment, Orda.kz reports.

According to Karaganda’s Kazybek Bi District Court, the incident occurred in December 2025. The defendants introduced themselves as employees of a news website and told the official they had a negative video about the district administration.

A month later, the defendants demanded another payment from the same official. Police detained them before they received the money.

The court closed the case concerning the first payment after the defendants compensated the victim, who forgave them and agreed to reconciliation.

For the second incident, the court removed the repeat-offense classification. It cited a Supreme Court ruling stating that an offense cannot be considered repeated if the person was released from criminal liability for the earlier incident.

The court ultimately found both defendants guilty of attempted fraud committed by a group acting by prior agreement. However, they were released from punishment under the amnesty adopted following Kazakhstan’s new Constitution.

The verdict has not yet entered into force.

Original author: Alexander Smolin

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