Two Judges and Their Armenian “Partners” on Trial in Northern Kazakhstan

A criminal case in Petropavlovsk has placed five people in the dock — two of whom, until recently, were sitting judges, Orda.kz reports.

The defendants include Bekbol Baimakhanov, Chair of the Specialized Interdistrict Economic Court of the North Kazakhstan Region, and Yerlan Ibrayev, Chair of Petropavlovsk Court No. 2. Both are accused of large-scale fraud.

Also on trial are Gevorg Poghosyan, Director of Nord Zholdary LLP; Hamlet Melkonyan, Foreman of Aurora Borealis LLP; and Artem Ivanov, a lawyer with the Almaty Chamber of Legal Consultants. They are charged with bribery by a group of individuals on an especially large scale.

According to the charges, the Armenian businessman and foreman — together with the Almaty lawyer — attempted to bribe the judges and, by all appearances, succeeded.

Curiously, Baimakhanov and Ibrayev are not being prosecuted for bribery itself, but for fraud. Official information released by the Supreme Court in December 2024 stated that Baimakhanov was caught red-handed accepting $15,000 for a favorable court decision. A month later, Ibrayev was arrested in Petropavlovsk.

At the time, however, it was not yet known that the two cases were connected.

All five defendants are currently in custody. At the preliminary hearing, the defense requested that the judges be released under milder conditions. Baimakhanov’s lawyer cited his client’s serious medical diagnosis and the need for treatment. But Judge Dzhanalina denied the bail motion, ruling that the illness did not pose a life-threatening condition. The remaining defendants were also remanded in custody due to the risk of flight.

Bekbol Baimakhanov, originally from the Turkistan Region, built his career within Kazakhstan’s judiciary. In 2022, he was appointed chairman of the Specialized Interdistrict Economic Court of the North Kazakhstan Region. He is 46 years old, married, and the father of three young children.

Yerlan Ibrayev, a native of the Aqmola Region, served as chair of Petropavlovsk City Court No. 2 for more than three years. He is 41 years old, married, and has two young children.

Original Author: Dinara Bekbolayeva