The Department of State Property and Privatization of Almaty was unable to sell the building of the former hotel owned by Kairat Satybaldyuly. The electronic auction scheduled for September 25 was declared failed, according to infohub.kz.
The property was put up for auction on September 9. The hotel complex at 115 Dosmukhamedov Street in the Almaly district of the city was listed with a starting price of 12,759,410,000 tenge. The auction was to begin at 10:00 on September 25, and a sale to a single participant was allowed.
However, on the designated day, the lot's status on the electronic trading portal was updated. "Failed, at the time of the start of the electronic auction, there were no registered participants in the auction hall for the sale object," the published status said.
The Department of State Property and Privatization had previously explained that in August 2023, the hotel was transferred to state ownership under a gift agreement. In September of that year, the property was transferred to the balance sheet of the Department of Judicial Administration.
Meanwhile, information about the demolition of the building began circulating online. However, the city akimat, in response to a request from a NUR.KZ correspondent, stated that the former hotel is not being demolished.
In addition, it was reported that after the project is completed, the building along with the land plot is planned to be transferred to the communal state institution "Department of Digitalization of the City of Almaty." "In the future, the facility will be used for the implementation of state programs in the field of digitalization and artificial intelligence development, as well as for accommodating residents working in IT, AI, creative industries, and other related areas," the akimat's response noted.
As for the case of Kairat Satybaldyuly himself, in September 2022, a court found him guilty in another embezzlement case and sentenced him to six years in prison to be served in a medium-security facility. Later, he was denied parole.
A new trial in Satybaldyuly's case began in Astana on April 1, 2024. At the hearing, his property in Russia, the United Arab Emirates, France, and Kazakhstan was discussed.
Subsequently, it became known that Satybaldyuly was given time to return real estate and luxury cars to the state. Prosecutor Nurmakhanov reported that Satybaldyuly's side agreed to return criminal assets to the state.
The Anti-Corruption Agency stated that in Satybaldyuly's case, another 50 billion tenge is planned to be returned. In August 2024, the Anti-Corruption Agency reported what exactly Kairat Satybaldyuly returned to the state. Later, the Prosecutor General's Office reported that property worth another 50 billion tenge would be returned by Satybaldyuly to the state.