Kyrgyzstan: Photo with Crime Boss Prevented Ilyas Amangaziev from Running for Parliament

cover Photo: Facebook.com (@adil.turdukulov)

A photo with a well-known crime boss has cost Ilyas Amangaziev his chance to run for parliament, Orda.kz reports.

Amangaziev had planned to run for a seat in the Jogorku Kenesh, the parliament of Kyrgyzstan. However, the Central Election Commission (CEC) denied his registration, 24.kg reports. The reason was a photo of Amangaziev with the late thief-in-law Kamchy Kolbaev, better known as Kolya the Kyrgyz.

The photo, taken in 2018, resurfaced when the Main Criminal Investigation Department of Kyrgyzstan’s Interior Ministry revisited the case seven years later.

Amangaziev confirmed that he was indeed in the picture with Kolbaev. The CEC stated that Kyrgyz law permits the rejection of candidates who have or are suspected of having ties to organized crime.

Amangaziev, while serving as an officer in the State Committee for National Security (GKNB), once climbed into a children’s pool and got into a confrontation with parents. The incident led to his dismissal from the agency.

Crime boss Kamchi Kolbaev was killed by Kyrgyz security forces during an attempted arrest in October 2023. Authorities continue to search for individuals linked to his criminal network — including several Kazakh nationals suspected of association with the group.

Original Author: Igor Ulitin

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