Major Oil Smuggling Trial Concludes in Mangystau Region

A high-profile trial on the illegal export of oil through the Aqtau seaport has ended in Mangystau.

Orda.kz obtained the full details.

The Defendants

Five representatives of oil companies stood accused of participating in an organized crime group and large-scale oil smuggling:

• Renald Melkumov, founder of BatysNefteTrade LLP
  
• Rafkhat Kistaubaev, director of Standart Petroleum
  
• Ramiz Ramazanov, director of Mangystau Oil Refining
  
• Alexey Raigorodsky, processing engineer
  
• Mergen Kenzhebekov, laboratory assistant

The Scheme

The group emerged in Aqtau in 2022. Their method was to disguise crude oil as “heating oil” — a product not subject to export restrictions or additional taxes. Using forged documents and shell companies, they exported crude to Azerbaijan through the Aqtau port.

In 2022–2023 alone, more than 2,100 tons of crude were shipped abroad using this scheme, mainly on the tanker Meliana.

Special Operation at Sea

On July 20, 2023, the National Security Committee and the port’s security service intercepted the Meliana three and a half kilometers from Aqtau.

The tanker’s crew insisted they were transporting heating oil.

An expert analysis by Kazakhstan’s oil refineries and the Gubkin Russian University of Oil and Gas confirmed that the cargo did not meet furnace fuel standards:

The confiscated batch could have produced over one thousand tons of diesel fuel, 397 tons of gasoline components, as well as fuel oil, bitumen, and liquefied gas. This confirmed the theory that the criminal group was systematically smuggling crude oil under the guise of finished fuel,case materials state.

Damage to the State

Experts calculated that in just one shipment, the state lost:

• 109.9 million tenge in unpaid rent tax
  
• 14.3 million tenge in customs duty

Overall, the state’s losses exceeded 1.16 billion tenge, with an additional 320 million in lost taxes.

Profits were distributed through fictitious accounts.

The Verdict

The trial opened in July 2025. The defendants maintained they had exported legal heating oil. The court rejected their claims.

Based on a combination of expert examinations, witness testimony, and documents, the court assessed their actions as intentional smuggling and participation in an organized criminal group,
court ruling.

On September 26, 2025, the court sentenced all five men to eight years in a medium-security penal colony. Their prison terms will be calculated from the date of sentencing, including time already served.

In addition, the court ordered them to pay:

• 1.16 billion tenge in damages
  
• 320 million tenge to the State Revenue Department of Mangystau
  
• 132.9 million tenge in procedural costs
  
• A 3.2 million tenge state fee
  
• 69,000 tenge each to the Victims Compensation Fund

Case materials also mention two other alleged members of the group — Burmistrov, described as the organizer, and Abdurakhmanov, his deputy. Neither was included among the accused, and no verdict has been issued against them.

The Meliana tanker case is one of the largest oil smuggling trials in Kazakhstan’s history, involving top managers, massive financial damage, and billions in fines.

Original Author: Dinara Bekbolayeva