Today, a trial has begun in Karaganda concerning the case of former Vice Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan Anatoly Shkarupa, the chairman of the corporation “Development Fund of housing and communal services” Kaysar Baidaly, and the director of ENERCO Erlan Nabiev.
Recall, as ACCA already reported, Shkarupa, Baidaly and Nabiev were arrested in November 2018 on suspicion of embezzlement of budget funds in the amount of more than a million dollars allocated in 2015 to the “Development Fund of housing and communal services” for the purchase and installation of heat meters in the city of Sarani in Karaganda region.
However, as the General Prosecutor’s office found out, at that time in Sarani there was no heating main and central boiler room. Anatoly Shkarupa, who served as mayor of Sarani from 2014 to 2017, was well aware of this. Nevertheless, according to investigators, the three defendants purchased heat meters and mounted them in empty walls, reporting to the government for the use of funds.
All three defendants are accused of embezzlement of another’s property on an especially large scale. If the court finds their guilt, each of them faces a long prison term (from 7 to 12 years with confiscation of property).
It should also be recalled that this case at the stage of preliminary hearings became scandalous. The fact is that one of the defendants, businessman Nabiev, charged the former head of the Special Prosecutors Service, Olesya Keksel, with torture, demanding that he incriminate himself and other persons involved in this case.
Based on this statement, a pre-trial investigation was launched against the country’s most famous prosecutor, Olesya Keksel. However, on December 5, 2019, the case against Keksel was dismissed.
Today, at the main court hearings, the former Vice Minister Shkarupa challenged the judge Zhanat Egemberdieva because of mistrust.
“I was not given the opportunity to get acquainted with the case file and build my line of defense. In addition, you read to me the rights of the convicted person, not having yet considered the case. You cannot take part in the consideration of the case,” the defendant explained.
The representatives of the Prosecutor’s office expressed their disagreement with this request.
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