Kazakhstan: Law Enforcement Target Alleged Transnational Crime Network in Landmark Investigation

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs is conducting a landmark pre-trial investigation into alleged Kazakh figures behind a major transnational criminal network, Orda.kz reports, citing Polisia.kz.

This marks the first time the ministry has launched such an investigation against suspected Kazakhstan-based leaders of an international organized crime group. The alleged coordination hub of the network was located in Kazakhstan, and the group is believed to have operated across multiple countries.

Together with the KNB, the SGO, and the Prosecutor General's Office, the investigative team is collecting evidence, including at the interstate level. In total, more than 150 people may be held accountable.

Seven cases of organized crime groups with signs of a transnational nature are being investigated, and one case of the creation of a criminal community, clarified the representative of the Department for Combating Organized Crime of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Kuandyk Alpys.  

In a separate case, Almaty police are investigating a criminal group that allegedly operated under the guise of a security company but was involved in hooliganism, extortion, and illegal weapons possession. That group was dismantled earlier this year.

Over the past two years, more than 90 criminal cases have been completed and sent to court, initiated on the facts of the creation, management and participation in organized criminal groups. Court decisions have already been made in relation to 13 organized criminal groups. More than 130 defendants have been sentenced by the court to imprisonment for up to 20 years, Kuandyk Alpys noted

Alpys also reported in one notable case, 24 people connected to thefts from JSC Qarmet were convicted, with the group's leader sentenced to 12 years in prison.

In 2025, 51 criminal cases were launched against organized crime figures. 

On June 10, the National Security Committee and the Ministry of Internal Affairs carried out a special operation in Almaty, neutralizing another group accused of extortion.

Original Author: Anastasia Prilepskaya