Third East Kazakhstan Ecology Official Convicted in Corruption Case

The former head of the East Kazakhstan Region’s Ecology Department, 62-year-old Mamay Butabayev, has been convicted of accepting a large bribe. This marks the third consecutive environmental official in the region to be sentenced for corruption, Orda.kz reports.

Butabayev was arrested on July 13, 2024, after being caught by the Anti-Corruption Service. That day, the official received 8.5 million tenge from Kanat Dyrynbaev, deputy director of a road construction company. Investigators said this amount was merely an advance payment, as Butabayev allegedly expected to receive a total of 130 million tenge in illicit gains.

Dyrynbaev was responsible for government relations at Xinxin LLP, the Kazakh branch of a Chinese company repairing a section of the Kalbatau-Maikapshagay highway. According to the investigation, Butabayev promised the company “general protection” and to ignore environmental violations in exchange for bribes.

The official did not admit guilt in court.

The charges are based on the investigative body’s assumptions. There is not a single fact confirming patronage,
said the former official’s lawyer, Erik Khalelov, after the verdict was announced.

The court found Butabayev guilty and sentenced him to 10 years and one month in prison. Kanat Dyrynbaev received the same sentence. He was convicted under two articles of the Criminal Code — bribery and money laundering.

The case also involved Marat Akylgazin, the owner of Inkom-Shygys LLP, who was sentenced to six years for attempted income laundering. The court determined that he tried to help Dyrynbaev conceal illegal funds by registering them under his company’s name.

It is possible that the defense will appeal the verdicts.

Three Arrests, One Year

Mamay Butabayev had served as head of the ecology department for only six months. Before that, he worked in the Abay Region and was appointed to East Kazakhstan following the arrest of his predecessor, Daniyar Aliyev, also convicted of bribery and is now serving a prison sentence.

A month before Aliyev’s detention, his deputy, Rauan Turarov, was arrested for accepting a bribe from a gold mining company. His guilt was proven in court, and he received a seven-year sentence.

Meanwhile, environmental issues remain acute in the region. This year, major enterprises in East Kazakhstan were hit with large fines for exceeding emission limits and improper waste disposal. The same Xinxin LLP, implicated in Butabayev’s case, paid more than one billion tenge in penalties.

Original Author: Elena Medvedeva