A former district police officer in the Mangystau region has been sentenced for extorting money from a grocery store owner in exchange for protection, reports infohub.kz.
According to the publication, in the Beyneu district, a district inspector decided to earn extra money by extorting a local grocery store owner. The 31-year-old former inspector was charged with bribery. Police Captain D. had been assigned to oversee the 7th administrative district of Beyneu since January 6, 2026.
He planned to offer protection to businesses in his area in exchange for regular payments. On the afternoon of January 17, he visited a supermarket in the village of Beyneu to talk to the owner. During the meeting, D. introduced himself as a district police inspector and checked the store's documents, demonstrating his authority and setting the stage for his illegal demands. Ten days later, on January 27, the suspect returned to the supermarket and demanded 30,000 tenge from the entrepreneur. In return, he promised general protection and not to hold her administratively liable for selling alcohol after 11 p.m.
The owner, feeling pressured, agreed to his illegal demand and transferred the specified amount to his account. Additionally, on February 5, the officer received groceries worth 6,800 tenge from the same supermarket without paying. On February 12, he again took groceries worth 5,450 tenge without payment.
Later, on February 21, D. demanded an additional 40,000 tenge, asking that the money be transferred to an account linked to his acquaintance's phone number. The businesswoman transferred 20,000 tenge.
During the main court hearing, it was established that the police captain had received a total of 62,250 tenge in cash and goods from the entrepreneur. The court took into account his guilty plea, his four minor children, and his positive character reference. An aggravating circumstance was that the crime was committed in violation of his oath of office.
He was found guilty and sentenced to a fine of over 3.1 million tenge, which is fifty times the amount of the bribe. He is also banned from holding public office for life and was stripped of his rank of police captain.