Former Aqtau City Court Chief Sentenced to Nine Years

A court in Mangystau has sentenced Bauyrzhan Shaidullin, the former chairman of the Aqtau City Court, who was charged with inciting bribery and fraud, Orda.kz reports.

Shaidullin allegedly promised a defendant a lighter sentence in exchange for 20 million tenge, but instead, he himself has been sentenced to nine years. The trial lasted four months.

Initially, the case was assigned to the Aqtau City Court, where Shaidullin had previously worked.

However, Judge Gulmarzhan Adilsultani recused herself, citing personal ties with Shaidullin and his family. The case was then transferred to the Munaily District Court.

Today, the verdict was handed down: former judge Bauyrzhan Shaidullin has been sentenced to nine years in prison. His accomplice, bailiff Rinat Dzhanakhmetov, received an eight-year sentence on similar charges.

In addition, the court ordered the confiscation of 16 million tenge found in Shaydullin’s safe deposit box in favor of the state. A civil lawsuit filed by the victims demanding one million tenge in compensation was left unreviewed by the court.

Shaydullin, the former chairman of the Aqtau City Court, was detained in June 2024. Footage released by Antikor appears to show large bundles of cash being pulled from a bag in front of the suspect, who remains remarkably calm throughout the video. The verdict has not yet entered into legal force.

This is not the first such instance.

Yerbol Rakhimbekov, the head of the Regional Court, was dismissed for gross misconduct. He had acquitted several defendants in a high-profile criminal case involving OzenMunaygas JSC.

However, the Prosecutor General’s Office challenged the appeals panel's ruling, and the Supreme Court ultimately sided with the prosecution. As a result, the oil company’s top managers were sent back to prison, and Rakhimbekov was disciplined and removed from his position as chair of the regional court.

Original Author: Dinara Bekbolayeva