A court in Astana has convicted a former acting head of a department at the State Revenue Department for the West Kazakhstan Region, along with a citizen who acted as an intermediary in passing the bribe, the website infohub.kz reports.
According to the Astana courts' press service, on November 4 the Specialized Interdistrict Criminal Court of Astana handed down a guilty verdict against the former acting head of a department at the State Revenue Department for the West Kazakhstan Region (R.) and citizen K. They were charged with accepting a bribe on an especially large scale and with bribery mediation (Part 4 of Article 366 and Part 1 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan).
"Between September and October 2025, R., while serving as acting head of the department, agreed with a Russian citizen to accept a bribe for the unimpeded passage of trucks through checkpoints in the West Kazakhstan Region. For general patronage and connivance, as well as assistance in the unimpeded movement of trucks from Russia into Kazakhstan, the official was paid 100 million tenge. In total, the arrangement covered the passage of 1,003 trucks," the court said.
The court also noted that the bribe-giver received information about the inclusion of the legal entities and individual entrepreneurs he used in the risk management system, as well as recommendations on how to circumvent the restrictions that arose.
"K. acted as an intermediary in handing over the money and received 24.8 million tenge for his services," the court said.
The state prosecutor asked the court to find R. guilty under Part 4 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code and sentence him to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property and a lifetime ban on holding certain positions. For K., the prosecutor sought 1 year and 6 months in prison with confiscation of property and a lifetime ban on holding certain positions.
The court noted that the sanction under Part 4 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code provides for imprisonment of 10 to 15 years with confiscation of property and a lifetime ban on holding certain positions or engaging in certain activities. The sanction under Part 1 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code provides for a fine equal to the amount of the bribe, or imprisonment of up to 3 years with confiscation of property and a lifetime ban on holding certain positions or engaging in certain activities.
"As a mitigating circumstance for both defendants, the court recognized the presence of minor children. An aggravating circumstance for R. was recognized as the commission of a criminal offense by a person who violated the oath he had taken. No aggravating circumstances were established for K.," the court said.
R. was found guilty under Part 4 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code and sentenced to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property and a lifetime ban on holding certain positions. K. was found guilty under Part 1 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code and sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison with confiscation of property and a lifetime ban on holding certain positions.
The court also ordered the confiscation to the state of funds found to have been obtained through crime, and the recovery from the convicted individuals of illegally obtained money. The verdict has not yet entered into legal force.