Kazakhstan's National Security Committee has shut down an organized group involved in the illegal export of oil products abroad. Investigators established that a businessman from the Mangystau Region organized the criminal scheme, the website infohub.kz reports.
According to investigators, the businessman signed contracts with subsurface-use companies to purchase crude oil. The raw material was then processed at the mini-refineries Standart Petroleum and Mangystau Oil Refining, with fictitious quality certificates issued. The finished products were shipped abroad by tanker through the Aktau seaport disguised as heating oil.
According to the National Security Committee, between 2019 and 2023 alone, more than 160,000 tonnes of oil products were illegally exported abroad through the limited liability partnership Batys Nefte Trade. The agency estimated the total volume of the operations at around 45 billion tenge.
This year, as part of a set of procedural measures, the assets of the individuals involved in the criminal case were confiscated, along with the mini-refineries, a tanker and other property. In total, more than 2 billion tenge in illegally obtained income and unpaid taxes was recovered for the state.
Earlier, the Aktau City Court sentenced five members of the organized criminal group, including the heads of the mini-refineries and the trading company, to 8 years in prison under Part 3 of Article 234 and Part 2 of Article 262 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The organizer of the criminal scheme is on the international wanted list.