Kozhamzharov’s Team: Fugitive Prosecutor Duissenov Seeks Asylum in Germany

Maksat Duissenov, a former transport prosecutor and associate of Kairat Kozhamzharov, is seeking political asylum in Germany. Kazakh authorities are demanding his extradition, while Duissenov insists he is being made the scapegoat in the high-profile “Khorgos Case,” Orda.kz reports.

Recent reports suggest Duissenov was detained in the German city of Fürth by Interpol. He faces charges of money laundering, fraud, and bribery.

According to our sources, he intends to apply for asylum in Germany, which effectively freezes the extradition process.

The extradition process has been suspended. Kazakhstan has engaged all its contacts — the consulate and even European channels. But so far, to no avail. They want to prove he's a criminal,
Orda.kz’s interlocutors said.

A Public Appeal

Before his arrest, Duissenov reemerged publicly in an interview with the ARGA human rights channel, where he described behind-the-scenes maneuvering ahead of Kazakhstan’s 2019 transition of power.

According to him, the National Security Committee (KNB) fabricated corruption allegations against Kozhamzharov and his allies, painting them as a threat to the incoming leadership.

They justified this by arguing that by remaining in his position as Prosecutor General, Kozhamzharov could hinder the country's new leadership. Having yielded to this persuasion, on the day of his resignation as President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev dismissed Kairat Kozhamzharov and appointed him a senator. At the same time, the leadership of the National Security Committee (KNB) filed a report addressed to Nazarbayev containing their own conjectures and fantasies about the Prosecutor General and his team being prone to corruption and that they were bribing criminal cases to dismiss them,
 Duissenov said.

The interview sparked anxiety from Kazakhstan’s authorities, who have reportedly sought to block the video on YouTube.

So, without thinking twice, I packed my things and calmly flew abroad. I arrived in Dubai, where my family was already. By this time, there were messages saying that Maksat Duissenov, the chief transport prosecutor, had been detained. Talgat Tatubayev called me and asked, 'Make, is everything okay? I know who's making these posts. The National Security Committee — in quotes, friends.' In fact, they have no confirmed information.

The Khorgos Affair

Duissenov eventually returned to Kazakhstan after assurances from high-level officials. Kozhamzharov reportedly asked then-KNB chief Karim Massimov whether Duissenov would face any issues.

Massimov said no.

Soon after, the “Khorgos Case” erupted. 

Khorgos, a major Kazakh-Chinese trade hub, was exposed as a smuggling hotspot in the early 2010s, with officials accused of protecting illicit cargo flows for years. Dozens of financial police officers were prosecuted.

Among them are the heads of special departments and units, financial police investigators - Talgat Tatubayev, Baurzhan Muzhikov, Kazbek Mardanov, Dulat Madiyarov, Kuandyk Besen, Arip Zhandos, Kenzhebay Zhumabekov, Dauren Yesenbekov, Talgat Makhatov. Then criminal cases were opened against me and Kairat Kozhamzharov,
Duissenov listed.

According to him, the revived charges stem from a complaint filed back in 2012 by former KNB officer Yerlan Abdrakhmanov, later convicted.

That complaint was dismissed at the time for lack of evidence.

Back in 2012, he filed a complaint against me and my colleague Makhatov for alleged corruption at the Khorgos customs office. On April 20, 2012, the special prosecutor refused to open a case. No crime was found. Then, after my dismissal from the financial police, I came under pressure from the prosecutor's office, the National Security Committee, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the financial police. They investigated everything: my family, my brothers and sisters. But there was no evidence, and no criminal case was opened.

Nevertheless, in January 2025, the interdepartmental investigative task force ordered the case reopened.

On January 23, Almaty Deputy Prosecutor Askhat Sharipov overturned that decision.

But a question arises. How could he have done this if the denial document itself, based on Abdrakhmanov's application, had long since been destroyed due to the expiration of its storage period? Nevertheless, in the summer of 2025, a new case of money laundering was opened against me and my brother. On July 5th, I was named a suspect, on July 6th, my brother was arrested, and on July 14th, I was placed on the wanted list.

Duissenov’s fate now rests with German authorities. If granted asylum, his extradition to Kazakhstan would be blocked.

Original Authors: Daniel Arturov, Anastasia Prilepskaya, Zarina Fayzulina