Massimov, Boranbayev and Qantar: 2023 High-profile Trials

In 2023, dozens of high-profile criminal cases were considered in Kazakhstan’s courts. Some are still ongoing, while others have come to their closure. Orda.kz has put together a profile of some of the most high-profile ones.

Massimov Handed 18 Years

On April 24, former KNB head, Karim Massimov, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for high treason, attempted violent seizure of power, abuse of power and official authority.

Massimov's deputies also received prison sentences:

• Anuar Sadykulov - 16 years
• Daulet Yergozhin - 15 years
• Marat Osipov - 3 years

The Astana court recovered over 10 billion tenge and $24 million for state revenue. The case of Massimov and his deputies was held behind closed doors and classified as "top secret". Only if Parliament grants the necessary permission, will details of the proceedings be declassified.

In June, Massimov, along with his deputies, tried to appeal the decision of the court of first instance. Only the institution where Massimov will serve his sentence has been changed, the term itself remained the same.

The former head of the National Security Committee was former President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s close ally. Their clan indeed seemed untouchable. The January Events, however, have shaken this idea to its very core.

Massimov has worked with me for many years. But did Jesus Christ know that Judas, who was sitting next to him, was a traitor? We are not gods so we will wait for the end of the trial. Then we will find out everything, Nazarbayev replied to a question from journalists about the investigation against Massimov.

Boranbayev: Stole, Returned, Released

Another person within the Nazarbayev family’s circle, the former in-law of the first president’s eldest daughter, Kairat Boranbayev, was sentenced in March this year. He received eight years in prison for aiding and abetting the embezzlement of state property.

The trial revolved around a 14.5 billion tenge embezzlement charge. The embezzlement reportedly occurred during the purchase of liquefied petroleum gas via the Aziyagazchunja company.

At the trial, Kairat Boranbayev asserted disagreement with the accusations, claiming they were due to the defendant’s close relationship with the Nazarbayev family.

I understand perfectly well that the January events affected all those who are (in the - Ed.) family. I am one of them, you all know this very well, he said.

In September, the businessman's sentence was reduced to six years. A month later, in October, the court replaced the unserved part with restriction of freedom. In November, Boranbayev was released. Bornbayev is on probation control. He had spent two years and four months in custody.

Before this, the businessman had paid 14.5 billion tenge in compensation for material damage as part of the investigation into the alleged embezzlement. The court has also confiscated several assets worth 6.2 billion tenge from him.

A few days before the sentencing, information surfaced that Boranbayev voluntarily returned assets worth over 90 billion tenge to the state. Among them are the Karazhanbas Severny oil field, the KazTurboRemont Service Center oil and gas equipment production and repair plant, a four-star hotel in the center of Astana, an Almaly shopping and entertainment complex, and the Fitnation fitness center chain.

Boranbayev also transferred 66 million dollars to the Education Infrastructure Support Fund.

As a result, Boranbayev has returned 140.7 billion tenge to the state.

 "ROP Operator": Aliya - A Name That Shall Not Be Spoken

Aliya Nazarbayeva, the youngest daughter of the first president, has also appeared in a high-profile case over the "ROP Operator". But, to the surprise of many Kazakhstanis, she sidestepped the accusation.

In 2015, Aliya Nazarbayeva founded the recycling company Operator ROP. A year later, the composition of the founders (stakeholders) changed. They were "Ecosaste Solution" LLP and Shnar Muktarova, who turned out to be Aliya Nazarbayeva's housekeeper.

In 2022, the anti-corruption service discovered that the company inflated the cost of recycling vehicles and repeatedly embezzled budget funds.

In July 2023, three managers of the ROP Operator, along with Vice Minister of Ecology Akhmetzhan Primkulov, were sentenced:

• Ex-CEO Svitlana Korotenko - seven years in prison
• Ex-director Medet Kumargaliev - seven years in a penal colony;
• Akhmetzhan Primkulov - seven years in prison
• ex-financial director Rustam Temirbek - two years in prison. Amnesty reduced this term to one year.

The total amount of damage they caused amounted to 26.8 billion tenge.

In court, all the defendants asserted that Aliya Nazarbayeva was the company’s ultimate beneficiary. The Astana court did not even summon the ex-president's daughter for questioning, however.

Aliya's housekeeper, Shnar Muktarova, as a former founder (stakeholder), also had to sit in the dock during the first trial. But Muktarova was in UAE. Only after being extradited did she appear in court.

In November, the case came to an end. Shnar Muktarova was handed a seven-year conditional sentence along with being required to pay 920 million tenge in compensation.

It is noteworthy that, according to the ex-financial director of the company Rustam Temirbek, Aliya Nazarbayeva made all decisions on behalf of her housekeeper.

Wild Arman and Kairat Kudaibergen

One of the high-profile cases about the January events began in September 2023. There were 45 people in the dock.

The main defendants:

• Arman Dzhumageldiev (Wild Arman), a criminal authority,
• Kairat Kudaibergen, ex-deputy of the Almaty Maslikhat,
• Ruslan Iskakov, the former head of the fifth department of the National Security Committee,
• and 43 others.

They are accused of organizing mass riots, participating in them, stealing firearms, as well as kidnapping 24 bystanders during the January Events.

According to the affected parties’ lawyers, those abducted were held in the basement of the Kazakhstan hotel, beaten and tortured. Lawyer Ainara Aidarkhanova said that one person died.

The preliminary hearings in the case were held publicly. At the same time, the large number of attendees resulted in the hearing not being held at the Almaty court, but in the pre-trial detention center No. 72.

Jammers had been installed at the detention center, resulting in a lack of mobile phone service. The police let trial participants in only after a thorough examination using an X-ray scanner.

Victims and witnesses, who were obliged to come to the trial, later expressed fear for their safety. On September 21, Judge Askhat Ashirbekov reclassified the case as closed. What is happening now is unknown.

11 KNB employees: Minimal Punishment

11 KNB employees, heads of various departments, were accused of kidnapping and cruel, inhuman treatment of alleged January event participants.

According to the investigation’s conclusions, on January 6, 2022, at the command of their 11 superiors, servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan began to take people to the building of Almaty airport. They had been detained in the lower part of the city on suspicion of participating in mass riots, terrorism, and other criminal offenses.

54 of them attracted the KNB’s attention. They were taken to containers located on the territory of the air harbor, where they were subjected to aggressive integration tactics, according to the prosecutor's office.

According to the indictment, the security officers not only intimidated and physically assaulted the suspects but also used AK-74 rifle butts, rubber batons, and even a billiard cue. People were beaten and kicked unconscious, facing demands to confess. Some of them were threatened with sexual abuse, while others were forced to kiss and lick the floor of the container.

The Turksib district court would later issue the following decision:

• Four defendants received five years in prison in a medium-security colony
• Three were sentenced to three years in a medium-security colony
• Three other former KNB employees received  three and five-year conditional sentences
• One defendant was acquitted.

Gulnar Zhuaspayeva, the lawyer of several victims, said that they disagree with the verdict and intend to appeal it.

24+1 Qantar Case

Another high-profile case was the trial of 25 Qantar participants. 24 defendants participated in the hearings, whereas Duman Kanatbek, who died during the January Events, was put on trial posthumously.

They were accused of:

• Participation in mass riots
• Theft on a particularly large scale with illegal entry into residential, office, and industrial premises
• Theft of vehicles causing major damage
• Illegal entry into the territory of a dangerous production facility.

On May 19, the Bostandyq court in Almaty sentenced 20 defendants to a conditional sentence of nine months to one year and nine months "with the application of the amnesty law." Four received amnesty. The criminal case against one defendant was terminated because of his death.

The border service of the National Security Committee of the Almaty region has sent a claim for 128 million tenge to the 24 Qantar participants.

The department believes that they caused damage to several official cars, hundreds of items of clothing, kitchen utensils, and several other things.

The expert assessment indicates hundreds of items with the wording "were lost during the struggle with the protesters."

Four-year-old Aikorkem: Soldier Acquitted

Almost all Kazakhstanis know four-year-old Aikorkem Meldehan's story. She died in her father's car on January 7, 2022, after the car came under fire on a square in Almaty. A bullet struck the girl in the head, she died on the spot. Aidos Meldehan's four children were in the car at that moment. They were also injured. Meldehan himself was at home.

 Orda’s editor-in-chief found out about this story by chance when on January 8 she ran into the girl's father, Aidos Meldehan, at the gates of the Almaty morgue. Aikorkem’s story has since remained in the heart of every Kazakhstani, while the girl herself has become a symbol of numerous rallies.

 On November 15, the Almaty garrison’s military court acquitted the serviceman Arman Zhuman, the main suspect in the case. He was charged with abuse of power with the use of a weapon, which entailed grave consequences, but not with homicide. The proceedings went on for more than six months. The trial was held behind closed doors. The court also issued a private ruling on holding the girl's father, Aidos Meldehan, accountable.

I have no words, only emotions. The court demands to open a criminal case against me under Article 119 "Leaving in danger". They're trying to accuse me of killing my daughter. But they acquit the killer, said Meldehan.

Jibek Joly Tragedy

In the summer of 2023, five-year-old Yerkezhan Nurmakhan disappeared in broad daylight in her hometown, Jibek Joly. Everyone searched for the child. Even the culprit himself, a 48—year-old unemployed man. He just so happened to live a hundred meters from the girl's house.

They came to inspect his house and yard twice, and only the third time did they notice Yerkezhan's dress  They later found her body in a shed. An examination revealed that the killer stabbed the child several times. It was later discovered that Yerkezhan set off for the store that day. The neighbor crossed paths with her. He lured her into his house, promising to give 150 tenge for ice cream.

When the culprit was detained, the villagers and the family of the deceased wanted retribution. Police officers prevented such an outcome. People later rallied, demanding safety for their children and an honest investigation.

The incident was reported to the President, Qasym-Jomart Toqayev. The President instructed the Prosecutor General's Office and the Interior Ministry to investigate meticulously.

A court would later find Saidolim Gaibnazarov sane and guilty of committing crimes under part 3 of Article 99 “Homicide" and part 2 of Article 121 "Violent acts of a sexual nature" of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment and chemical castration. He must also pay the affected party 100 million tenge in moral damage.

Original Author: Silam Aqbota

DISCLAIMER: This is a translated piece. The text has been modified, the content is the same. Please refer to the original article in Russian for accuracy.