In Kazakhstan, head of Pavlodar region was detained

The mayor of Pavlodar region, Bulat Bakauov, was detained by officers of the National Security Committee (NSC). A source in the Regional mayor’s office informed ACCA that together with the mayor, his assistant-adviser was detained.

“He was detained during the meeting. The city hall building is now cordoned off,” the source said.

According to unofficial data, Bulat Bakauov is suspected of a corruption offense. At the moment, according to the source, the NSC officers are conducting searches in the apartment of the mayor and his assistant. Bakauov himself is under interrogation.

Note that the name of Bulat Bakauov resounded throughout Kazakhstan at the end of December 2019. At the New Year’s charity ball, the mayor of the region put up his portrait for auction. The video from a charity ball, leaked into the network, shows the bidding process for the mayor’s portrait. The video starts at $33.7 thousand. Well-known Kazakh showmen Tursynbek Kabatov and Yaroslav Melekhin, who were leading the auction, ultimately brought the lot amount to $80.5 thousand.

As it turned out, a happy buyer was a deputy of the local electoral body, businessman Gnel Akopyan. He is the director of the company “Aza”, engaged in the construction and repair of roads in the region.

It is noteworthy that the press service of the mayor’s office of Pavlodar region denied the information on past auction, saying that the total amount that was managed to get per lot was only $1.8 thousand. In addition, the mayor’s press secretary, Yernar Saitakhmet, noted that all the proceeds from the charity evening will be transferred to the training and production enterprise of the Kazakh Society of the Blind.

In conclusion, we’ll add that the mayor’s office of Pavlodar region officially issued a statement in which it noted that there is currently no confirmation of the detention of Bakauov by the NSC.

“At the moment, there is no official confirmation of this information. We ask you to refrain from conclusions until official data appear,” the report said.