A corruption scheme involving illegal logging of valuable timber species and their subsequent sale has been uncovered in the Semey Ormany state forest nature reserve. The National Security Committee, together with the Prosecutor General's Office, established that local officials organized a criminal mechanism, infohub.kz reports.
According to investigators, senior reserve employees, in exchange for regular cash payments, provided businessmen with unimpeded access to the most liquid and valuable forest areas — for their destruction and logging.
During searches, NSC operatives seized accounting documents as well as so-called "black accounting" records — handwritten notes detailing the allocation of forest blocks for felling and schemes for transferring cash among members of the criminal group.
A pre-trial investigation has been launched under Part 3 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan on charges of receiving a bribe by a group of persons by prior conspiracy or on a large scale. Those found guilty face a large fine or imprisonment for 7 to 12 years with confiscation of property and a lifetime ban on holding public office.
It is worth noting that in early September, Kazakhstan was swept by a series of forest fires. Two outbreaks were recorded in Kostanay Region. One fire each was registered in East Kazakhstan, Karaganda, and Pavlodar Regions, as well as in the Semey Ormany reserve.