National Guard Major Convicted of Extortion in Aqtobe

The Aqtobe Garrison Military Court has sentenced 34-year-old police major Temur Kasymkulov, who exploited his position to extort money from young women working in the erotic massage industry, Orda.kz reports.

Kasymkulov, formerly a senior investigator with the National Guard's military unit under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, used his authority to intimidate and exploit several women. Originally from the Ayteke Bi district, he threatened to register the women as illicitly engaged in sex work and shame them publicly if they didn’t pay him.

The case surfaced when a young woman, who had entered the massage business at just 17, went to the police to report a stolen wallet. The case was assigned to Kasymkulov, who at the time headed the investigation department. Upon discovering the nature of her work, he began blackmailing her instead of conducting a legitimate investigation.

Kasymkulov discovered that A. Abdykasymova and others were providing body massage services in an apartment. After learning about their income, he began threatening them with criminal prosecution for operating a brothel,the case files state. 

Kasymkulov abused access to official databases to gather incriminating information on the women. He threatened to officially register one of the victims as illicitly engaged in sex work. Fearing the consequences, she agreed to pay. Over the course of 18 months, she paid him nearly 1.5 million tenge. To conceal his involvement, Kasymkulov even rented an apartment for her and enlisted acquaintances to monitor her income and “protect” her.

Eventually, Kasymkulov was dismissed from his position but continued manipulating the women. He lived off their earnings, controlled them, and even went to the movies with some of them.

In May 2022, Kasymkulov told them to leave for Almaty, claiming they were being watched by Anticor (Anti-Corruption Agency). Later, he brought them back to Aqtobe and housed them in his run-down apartment in the Batys-2 district, ordering them to pay for repairs using money from their massage work.

At trial, Kasymkulov claimed he had only lent them money and rented out the apartment. The court rejected his defense, finding him guilty of extortion. He was stripped of his rank of major and sentenced to two years of restricted freedom with mandatory community service (100 hours per year).

He was also ordered to pay moral damages to the victims.

Original Author: Ardak Yerubay