July 22 Hearing in Trial of Former National Security Officer Sarbasov Held

The high-profile trial of Manat Sarbasov, a former senior official of the Shymkent branch of the State Committee for National Security (KNB), has been underway for over two months, Orda.kz reports.

Sarbasov faces multiple serious charges, including large-scale fraud, bribery, and laundering of illegally obtained assets.

The latest court session began with the remote testimony of former KNB officer Yerzhan Masakbayev, who is currently serving a 12-year sentence in a maximum-security prison.

The court was unable to proceed with the questioning of another witness after he refused to recite the oath, prompting the judge to halt the questioning.

Masakbayev’s role in the case dates back to the end of 2021, when businesswoman and key witness Elmira Duisenkyzy, then being held in a pretrial detention center in connection with the Reana school case, allegedly reached out to him through acquaintances.

She requested his help in dropping the charges or changing her detention status.

According to investigators and the court, Masakbayev claimed he would bribe officials in the prosecutor’s office, the investigative committee, and the court in exchange for 173 million tenge. However, he never followed through. He was later convicted and sentenced to prison.

Despite the court’s attempt to read Masakbayev’s testimony, Sarbasov objected, arguing that the prisoner should be cross-examined again.

There are legal grounds for reading testimony aloud — for example, if the witness is missing, ill, or deceased, or if their pre-trial and courtroom statements contradict one another,
 Sarbasov protested.

Speaking during a recess, the defendant told Orda.kz that he had no connection to Masakbayev but questioned the integrity of his statements.

Sarbasov’s defense also requested the appearance of Galiya Zholdasova, a former accountant at a medical college owned by Elmira Duisenkyzy.

Zholdasova testified that she had never met Sarbasov.

Still, his lawyers were particularly interested in the college's financial operations, to which she responded that the institution had previously generated three to five million tenge annually in profit — a figure that has since declined sharply.

Orda.kz will continue to report on developments in the ongoing trial.

Original Author: Alexandra Kim