President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev accepted the resignation of the mayor of the Turkestan region Umirzak Shukeyev, whose direct subordinate was convicted of taking a bribe.
We are talking about the former mayor of the city of Kentau Dauren Makazhanov. Recall, as ACCA has already reported, Makazhanov was detained in February of this year on suspicion of taking a large bribe. As it was established during the investigation, in March 2020, the Kentau city hall signed an agreement with the VIP Stroy Company Olzhas Artykaliyev for the repair and maintenance of roads in the city of Kentau. The cost of the tender, held, by the way, within the framework of the Nurly Zhol state program, exceeded $4 million.
After the conclusion of the contract, the mayor demanded a bribe from Artykaliyev in the amount of $112,000 for the timely and unimpeded receipt of compensation for investment costs. The bribe should have been transferred through the mayor’s confidant, the director of the Integra construction company, Lavrenty Bobryshev.
And so that Artykaliyev did not have the intent to evade “gratitude”, he was forced to conclude a loan agreement: he allegedly borrowed money from Bobryshev. According to the agreement, Artykaliyev had to “return” the money to Bobryshev by December 2021.
But, apparently, the entrepreneur did not want to share. Then, in January 2022, Makazhanov began to demand to pay him off. And Artykaliyev responded by filing a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Agency. In February, Artykaliyev gave Bobryshev $108.7 thousand intended for Makazhanov. However, the mayor was very cautious.
“Not wanting to be convicted of committing a particularly serious corruption crime, in order to receive funds from the director of VIP Stroy Company Artykaliyev through an intermediary Bobryshev, Makazhanov sent his authorized representative, the director of the Eurasian Bank branch in Turkestan, Baurzhan Tyumebaev, to meet with the latter, previously asking him to take a bribe in the amount of $98.5 thousand from Bobryshev,” the case file says.
Soon, in the course of operational and investigative measures, the entire trinity – Makazhanov, Bobryshev and Tyumebaev – was detained.
In July 2022, Martpek Kakimzhanov, a judge of the Almaty Specialized Inter-District Criminal Court, found all three guilty of the crimes they were accused of, despite the fact that the defendants themselves did not agree with this.
According to the verdict of the court, the ex-mayor of Kentau Makazhanov received 10 years in prison in a strict regime colony with a life ban on holding positions in the public service. Lavrenty Bobryshev was sentenced to 1 year in prison, and Baurzhan Tyumebaev – to a year and a half.
It should be recalled that in 2019, Kazakhstan adopted amendments to the law on civil service, according to which the heads of state structures became personally responsible for their subordinates convicted of corruption crimes.
In this regard, as soon as the court verdict against Makazhanov entered into force, his immediate superior, the mayor of the Turkestan region, Umirzak Shukeyev, submitted his resignation. Umirzak Shukeyev is one of Kazakhstan’s political heavyweights and one of the country’s most experienced crisis managers. Over the years of his career, he was the Minister of Economy, Minister of Trade, Vice Prime Minister, Mayor of Kostanay and Turkestan regions, as well as the capital of Kazakhstan.
Most experts had great doubts that President Tokayev would accept Shukeyev’s resignation, given all his past merits and achievements. However, by decree of the head of state on August 31, Shukeyev was removed from the post of mayor of the Trukestan region.
