Former Border Service Chief Darhan Dilmanov Released from Prison

Former head of Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee (KNB) Border Service, Darhan Dilmanov, has been released from prison. He was convicted two and a half years ago for abuse of power.

His case was linked to a border scandal and had connections to the Nazarbayeva family. 

Orda.kz revisits the trial of the "old guard" general and what is known about him.

A Paid Duty

Dilmanov served his full sentence, taking into account the time spent in pre-trial detention.

The convicted person mentioned in the inquiry served his sentence in a facility of the penal correction system in accordance with the court's verdict. He was released due to the full completion of the sentence imposed by the court,
 the RK MIA's Committee of the Penal Correction System told Orda.kz.

He was sentenced in December 2023. At that time, Kazakhstan’s top border official was given four years in prison, stripped of valuable property, and lost his military and honorary titles.

Dariga's“Green Corridor”

The case stemmed from an investigation into abuse of power during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, as trade with China ground to a halt due to lockdown restrictions, the government ordered simplified procedures at the border.

Under Dilmanov’s directive, a special “green corridor” scheme was introduced at the “Nur Joly” checkpoint for Eurotransit Cargo LLP — whose trucks were allowed to pass more quickly than others.

This company, connected to the family of Dariga Nazarbayeva, carried out 1,750 shipments and earned over four billion tenge. Other logistics operators complained that the firm was pushing them out of the market.

Investigators concluded that Dilmanov had lobbied for the company’s interests and created monopolistic conditions. Eight individuals — Dilmanov and his subordinates — were tried in the case. All pleaded guilty. One businessman, the owner of a logistics complex, voluntarily handed over assets worth more than five billion tenge to the state.

Unlike Dilmanov, his co-defendants received lighter, non-custodial sentences. However, they were permanently barred from government service.

Background

Former Lieutenant General Darhan Dilmanov headed Kazakhstan’s border service from July 2015 to April 2022 — stepping down shortly after the January unrest (Qantar). His dismissal had been widely anticipated. Kazakhstan was seeking new military leadership unconnected to the disgraced former KNB chief Karim Massimov and his circle. Dilmanov was part of the “old guard” of generals, who no longer had a place in the new power structure.

He was arrested in June of the same year. After his conviction, Dilmanov tried to appeal the verdict but was unsuccessful.

Dilmanov became the second convicted director of the KNB Border Service. His predecessor, Nurlan Dzhulamanov, was found guilty in March 2015 of accepting large-scale bribes, creating and leading an organized criminal group, and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Original Author: Zarina Fayzulina