The Fitnation sports and wellness complex, formerly owned by prominent businessman Kairat Borabayev and transferred to the state, failed to sell at auction in Astana, reports infohub.kz.
The lot for the sale of the complex was listed on the e-Qazyna.kz electronic trading platform. The Fitnation sports and wellness center, located at 4/1 Turan Avenue in Astana, was put up for auction.
According to the website, the lot was listed by representatives of the Astana Department of Asset Management and Public Procurement. The starting price of the property was 2,913,037,603 tenge, with a guarantee deposit of 436,955,641 tenge.
The lot included a building with extensions totaling 4,000 square meters and 510 units of equipment, as well as 510 fixed assets on the balance sheet of the Daulet State Communal Public Enterprise under the Astana Akimat.
Nevertheless, the auction was declared failed. "Auction status: failed (no accepted bids from participants in the web portal registry at the start of the auction)," the website states.
Businessman Kairat Borabayev was detained in March 2022: he and a group of individuals were accused of embezzling 14.5 billion tenge in the purchase of liquefied petroleum gas and laundering criminally obtained funds.
The trial began in late December 2022. The prosecution alleged that Borabayev transferred his share of the embezzled funds to a Swiss bank account and purchased a property in Almaty. Borabayev himself denied guilt and claimed he did not understand the charges against him.
In March 2023, Borabayev was found guilty and sentenced to 8 years in prison with confiscation of property and a lifetime ban on holding certain positions. In July of that year, the sentence for Borabayev, Nakhanov, and Zhanuzak was overturned, and an appellate panel hearing was scheduled.
Later, the Anti-Corruption Agency reported that Borabayev returned assets worth 90 billion tenge to the state, including an oil field, a gas distribution company, shopping centers, hotels, fitness centers, etc. He also transferred another 30 billion tenge to the Education Infrastructure Support Fund.
Subsequently, the prosecutor requested a new sentence for Borabayev—6 years in prison instead of eight. The prosecutor's office explained why the requested term was less than the previous overturned punishment.
Soon after, the court granted Borabayev's request and replaced the unserved part of his sentence with restriction of freedom. The businessman was released from prison. Kairat Borabayev wrote a post on his Instagram profile thanking those who supported him.
Borabayev also lost a lawsuit over the former McDonald's in Belarus.