Former Sports Committee Head Case: Appeal Court Held

The Criminal Division of the Astana City Court has reviewed the case on appeal. It concerns Samat Yergaliyev, the former head of the IKS Sports Committee and former head of the IKS Sports Development Directorate, Orda.kz reports.

On September 16, the court of first instance sentenced Samat Yergaliyev to three years and six months. 

Disagreeing with the court's decision of the first instance, the convicted person and his lawyers appealed it. However, the panel agreed with the court's conclusions on the proven guilt of the convicted person, as his guilt was proven by the testimony of witnesses, including chess players and coaches. The panel agreed with the type and amount of punishment, taking into account the nature and degree of public danger of the severe corruption crime committed,  reported by the Astana City Court. 

Thus, the panel of judges upheld the first-instance verdict.

Yergaliyev was accused of abusing his authority and illegally hiring Alisher Aimukhambetov as a senior coach for deaf sports at the Sports Development Directorate (SDD).

According to the prosecution, Yergaliyev allegedly "promoted" Aimukhambetov to the national team's coaching staff at the 2019 Deaflympics, thereby attempting to receive part of the cash reward for the victory of hearing-impaired chess players in a competition. The damage caused to the state was estimated at 111 million 480 thousand tenge; the former head paid this amount in full.

The court's decision has been entered into legal force.

Original Author: Anastasia Prilepskaya