Can you demand money from a developer under the guise of fighting for residents' rights? A specialized criminal court in Almaty decided that you cannot. A jury found Yernar Rakhimzhanov guilty of extortion: according to the prosecution, he demanded 17 billion tenge from a construction company for two apartments, promising in return to stop a campaign against the developer. He received an eight-year prison sentence, reports the website infohub.kz.
According to the verdict, back in 2021 Yernar Rakhimzhanov bought four apartments on Suleimenova Street in Almaty at an auction, registering them in his mother's name. Two years later, construction of a residential complex by Alma Tau Construction began nearby. The court found that this was when the man conceived a plan to force the company to buy his property.
In summer 2024, Rakhimzhanov offered to sell the apartments to the developer. After being refused, the court established, he began posting videos on social media, organizing residents' meetings, and sending appeals to various state bodies and media outlets. All this, according to the prosecution, was accompanied by threats to continue the campaign against the organization if it did not agree to his terms. The amount demanded kept increasing and reached 17 billion tenge — 8.5 billion for each of the two apartments.
The history of confrontation between Yernar Rakhimzhanov and the developer did not begin with the criminal case. As early as 2024, he approached the editorial board of Orda.kz as a civil activist opposing the construction of the residential complex on Suleimenova Street. At the time, residents claimed that instead of the planned kindergarten, another apartment building was being erected on the site. Rakhimzhanov said he had sent appeals to the akimat, the prosecutor's office, the Anti-Corruption Agency, relevant ministries, and other state bodies, trying to stop the construction. In responses from state bodies published by Orda.kz, it was stated that Alma Tau Construction LLP had indeed started construction without a full set of permits. Some violations were later rectified, but the conflict between activists and the developer did not end there.
It was this long-standing confrontation that the prosecution later described as part of an extortion scheme. According to the prosecution, the complaints, publications, and resident meetings became a means of pressuring the company. Rakhimzhanov himself disagrees with this assessment and insists he was merely seeking compliance with the law.
After a company representative contacted the police, law enforcement conducted an operation. Under their control, 20 million tenge was transferred to the account of the defendant's mother as a down payment for a future deal. This money became the basis of the criminal case materials.
The case was heard with a jury. They found Rakhimzhanov guilty of extortion on an especially large scale. The court sentenced him to eight years in prison to be served in a medium-security facility. The court left the construction company's civil claim for recovery of 20 million tenge without consideration — the plaintiff's representative said he intended to file it separately through civil proceedings. The seizure of these funds was maintained.
After the verdict, Rakhimzhanov and his lawyers filed appeals. They ask to overturn the verdict and send the case for a new trial with a different panel of judges. The defense argues that the case materials contain no evidence that the man was aware of the illegality of his actions or intended to commit extortion. The negotiations with the construction company, the lawyers claim, were merely an attempt to sell his property. Furthermore, the defense believes the trial court based its verdict on evidence obtained in violation of criminal procedure law. The Almaty City Court has already accepted the appeals for consideration. They will be heard on July 21. Until then, Rakhimzhanov will remain in custody.