New Details Emerge in Case of Former Shymkent Anticorruption Agency Deputy Head

In Shymkent, a trial is underway against the former deputy head of the anti-corruption department, Daurenbek Kozhabayev, Orda reports.

He is accused of receiving a bribe on an especially large scale.

The case centers on an alleged bribe scheme involving a school director seeking to avoid criminal charges.

The story began in September 2022 when Ulsuer Kashtanova, director of Shymkent School No. 132, faced charges for accepting a one million tenge bribe.

Seeking to avoid prosecution, she reached out through intermediaries to Daurenbek Kozhabayev, then deputy head of the anti-corruption department.

During a subsequent meeting, this person informed her that Kashtanova's case could be settled out of court if she handed over an amount equivalent to sixty times the bribe, i.e. 60,000,000 tenge. That same day, Raushan Kulymbetova went to Kashtanova's house and gave her this information, follows from the court materials.

Kashtanova managed to collect 42 million tenge, delivered to Kozhabayev through an intermediary, Raushan Kulymbetova, who received one million tenge for her role.

After that, she (the intermediary) met with this person several times at Kashtanova's request, and he assured her that the issue would be resolved favourably. However, in November 2023, Kulymbetova learned that this person had left his position.

Following Kozhabayev's departure and Kashtanova's passing, Kulymbetova attempted to return the bribe money to Kashtanova's relatives.

She was later sentenced to 1.5 years in prison with a lifetime ban from government positions, despite testimonies from the deceased's family supporting her claim that she didn't incite the bribery.

Kozhabayev, who fled in 2023, was captured in November 2024 and brought to trial in January 2025.

He is the brother of Maksat Kozhabayev, former Deputy Chair of the Anti-Corruption Agency, who was sentenced to 5.5 years for fraud in November 2023.

Original Author: Dinara Bekbolayeva