Son of Ex-Official Convicted in “Canned Meat Case” Appointed to Post in Presidential Administration

Aqorda has announced the appointment of Zhandos Imanaliyev as head of the Foreign Policy Department within the Presidential Administration, Orda.kz reports.

Imanaliyev joined the Presidential Youth Personnel Reserve in 2021. Little official information is available about his background, and his full professional profile has not been made public.

According to our information, Zhandos Imanaliyev is the son of former official Bakhytbek Imanaliyev, who previously served as deputy akim of the Jambyl region and worked in the Presidential Administration during Nursultan Nazarbayev’s presidency.

Bakhytbek Imanaliyev was convicted in 2021 in connection with the so-called “canned meat case.” The court found him guilty of embezzling 6.5 billion tenge while serving as head of the State Material Reserves Committee.

Investigators established that in 2018, the committee sold substandard beef stew containing soy instead of meat. Imanaliyev was sentenced to eight years in prison, banned from public service for life, and stripped of his state awards.

However, according to the Committee for the Penitentiary System's (KUIS) response to our 2022 inquiry, he served only one year.

By a ruling of the Qapchagay City Court dated June 20, 2022, Imanaliyev was released from prison “due to an illness included in the list of conditions that qualify for early release.

Original Author: Dinara Bekbolayeva