Prosecutor Seeks Seven Years for Former Vice Minister of Culture and Sports Yerlan Kozhagapanov
Photo: Primeminister.kz
The trial over the alleged embezzlement of one billion tenge during the XV Forum of Interregional Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia is nearing its conclusion in Astana’s inter-district criminal court, Orda.kz reports.
On trial are former Vice Minister of Culture and Sports Yerlan Kozhagapanov and Lyazzat Kokkozova, head of the company Success K. Kozhagapanov is charged with abuse of office, while Kokkozova is accused of theft.
According to investigators, in 2018, Kozhagapanov used his position to favor a private company in securing the contract to organize the forum, held in Petropavlovsk. The Anti-Corruption Agency claims the event’s costs were artificially inflated, nearly doubling the actual expenses.
During the May 5 court hearings, prosecutor Arman Kiziken requested a seven-year prison sentence for Kozhagapanov. The prosecution also asked the court to strip him of the Aibyn Order (Order of Valor), 2nd Class and his special rank of “colonel of the customs service.”
For Lyazzat Kokkozova, the prosecutor requested eight years in prison with asset confiscation and a seven-year ban on holding financially responsible or executive positions in commercial companies.
The state prosecution also asked the court to partially satisfy a civil claim against both defendants, seeking the recovery of over one billion tenge.
Both defendants deny wrongdoing. Kozhagapanov has claimed in court that the case against him was fabricated and accused investigators of applying pressure.
Kozhagapanov was detained by the Anti-Corruption Service in March 2024.
The XV Forum of Interregional Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia was held in November 2018, with the participation of Nursultan Nazarbayev and Vladimir Putin. During the event, the two leaders signed several key agreements, including amendments to the Baikonur lease protocol and border-crossing arrangements for residents in frontier regions.
Original Author: Dinara Bekbolayeva
Latest news
- Kazakhstan Khalkyna Foundation Expands Support for Healthcare, Education and Sports
- Former Massimov Son-in-Law Loses Terminal at Dostyk Station
- Bathing in the Pond and Damaging Trees: Almaty Botanical Garden Tightens Rules After Vandalism
- Kazakhstan Announces Launch of New Political Party Adilet Ahead of Kurultai Elections
- Government Decides Fate of Hundreds of Thousands of Hectares of Former Semipalatinsk Test Site
- Deputies Want Firefighters Given Power to Break Through Barriers and Blocking Cars
- Kazakhstan to Create National Rating Agency
- Less Than 1% of Employees in Kazakhstan Work Remotely
- Air Astana and FlyArystan Fined for Submitting Inaccurate Aviation Fuel Data
- Chinese Tourist Arrivals in Kazakhstan Rose Sharply in 2025, Analysts Say
- New Tax Code Has Not Slowed Business Growth in Kazakhstan, MNE Says
- Kazakhstan Plans Sharp Increase in Minimum Wage
- Tax Authorities to Start Checking Mobile Transfers in Kazakhstan From April 15
- After Outcry Over Altyn-Emel, Stretch of Highway Cleared of Garbage
- Ministry of Finance to Withdraw Idle Funds From Accounts of State Companies
- Illegal Resource Extraction Stopped in Taldykorgan
- Fewer Apartments Are Being Bought in Astana as Market Slump Enters Third Month
- Government Criticizes Idea of Dog Tax in Kazakhstan
- Kazakhstan Records Lowest Neonatal Mortality Rate in Central Asia
- Kazakhstan Imposes Six-Month Ban on Cattle and Small Livinestock Exports
