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A former judge in Almaty, Svetlana Zholmanova, has been handed a new prison sentence for fraud. This latest ruling adds to a previous conviction, resulting in a consolidated jail term.

New Verdict Details

On February 11, the Medeu District Court No. 2 announced its verdict for the 45-year-old Zholmanova. She was found guilty under Article 190, Part 4, Clause 2 of the Criminal Code, pertaining to fraud involving particularly large sums.

The former judge was found to have caused damages exceeding 168 million tenge to six victims. The court sentenced her to 8 years of imprisonment. Taking into account her previous 10-year sentence issued on June 19, 2025, the final combined sentence was set at 10 years, to be served in a medium-security institution.

Victims and Damages

The case involved six victims. The court satisfied the claims of three of them.

The convicted individual was given 30 days from the date the court ruling takes legal effect to voluntarily fulfill civil claims. If not met within this period, enforcement will be carried out forcibly.

Additionally, the court ordered Zholmanova to make a compulsory payment of 20 monthly calculation indices (amounting to 86,500 tenge for 2026) to a compensation fund for the victims.

This verdict has not yet entered into legal force. The former judge retains the right to appeal the court's decision through the appellate procedure.

Previous Charges and Investigation

Previously, on June 19, 2025, the Medeu District Court No. 2 had sentenced Zholmanova to 10 years. According to investigative data, between 2021 and 2024, the judge allegedly defrauded citizens of over 1 billion tenge under the guise of assisting with real estate purchases and participation in tender projects.

The prosecution reported that 48 episodes of criminal activity were identified during the investigation and consolidated into a single case. Upon completion of the investigation, the criminal case was sent to court with an indictment under Article 190, Part 4, Clause 2 of the Criminal Code.

A criminal case involving Svetlana Zholmanova was initially opened in 2021. At that time, the former judge was suspected of fraud related to helping interested parties secure favorable court decisions. Subsequently, the criminal case against her was dropped, and she was dismissed from her judicial position.

This information was reported by the Infohub.kz news agency.