Shymkent Corruption Trial: Testimonies Clash in Case Against KNB Official

In Shymkent, court proceedings are underway in the case against Manat Sarbasov, first deputy head of the local National Security Committee (KNB), who faces multiple charges under the Criminal Code, Orda.kz reports.

Investigators allege Sarbasov used his position to build a corruption network. A key allegation centers on payments from Elmira Duysenkyzy, owner of the private school “Riana” and several colleges. She claims to have paid Sarbasov around 435 million tenge since 2007.

Duysenkyzy said she typically handed money directly to Sarbasov, but sometimes passed it through intermediaries:

A year later, Manat returned to Shymkent, it was in 2014-2015, I don't remember the exact date. From that time on, Manat would come in person every month for the money, two and a half million tenge, or Murat would come to our medical college on Sarbasov's instructions and take his money. Mierkhan also came once in 2019 and once in 2020. Later, I learned from Sarbasov that this employee died of coronavirus. Sarbasov's driver, Ruslan, came several times for the money. 

Sarbasov, however, questioned inconsistencies in her testimony:

Ruslan was not my driver at the time in question, so you did not mention it, and the investigator pretended not to have heard about it. During the interrogation on October 14, you also said that Ruslan came for the money in 2019, then you said, as far as I remember, that Manat himself or his driver Ruslan came for the money in 2019. Why did you say during the interrogation on August 14 that Ruslan did not come for the money in 2019? Why are you giving different testimonies? During the interrogation on October 14, you said that in 2020, I don’t remember the exact date, Ruslan came twice, and you handed over seven and a half million tenge each, but during the interrogation on August 14, you said that Ruslan came three times in 2020. 

Duysenkyzy responded that her statements may differ slightly due to the passage of time:

I told the investigator that you asked me for 10 million tenge because you did not have enough money to buy an apartment. To the seven and a half million I paid monthly, you asked to add two and a half million. And let the investigator answer for what and how he wrote. 

Sarbasov also questioned her about a missing 10 million tenge allegedly related to an apartment purchase:

Regarding the 10 million, you said the following during this interrogation: 'At the beginning of July 2020, Manat called me on my cell phone and asked me to give him 10 million tenge for the Riana school this month. He explained that he did not have enough money to buy an apartment in the Royal residential complex, located on Qonayev Street in Shymkent. Manat said that he would credit the additional five million tenge for the following month, for August.' From this testimony, it follows that 10 million tenge is for two months for the Riana school? In court, you said that this amount came out without adding the monthly seven and a half million tenge, two and a half million tenge at my request, that is, for the school and for the college. Why are you giving different testimony? 

To which Duysenkyzy insisted:

I told the investigator that you asked me for 10 million tenge because you did not have enough money to buy an apartment. To the seven and a half million I paid monthly, you asked to add two and a half million. And let the investigator answer for what and how he wrote. 

During a recent hearing, Sarbasov mentioned he had spent over a year in solitary confinement, which gave him ample time to study the case and prepare his defense.

Orda.kz continues monitoring developments in the trial.

Original Author: Alexandra Kim