On May 27, in Pavlodar, the court made the decision on the case of the former mayor of Pavlodar region, Bulat Bakauov, who was initially suspected of abuse of authority. However, subsequently, the article, incriminated to the ex-head of the region, was replaced by a less severe “abuse of power”.
Recall that Bulat Bakauov was detained by employees of the Committee for National Security on January 15, 2020 right during the meeting.
On January 17, the press service of the Committee for National Security reported that an investigation was underway on Bakauov under article 362 part 4 paragraph 3 of the Criminal Code “Exceeding authority or official power, entailing grave consequences or committed in order to take benefits and advantages for oneself or other persons or organizations, or harming other people or organizations”.
The punishment under this article provides for imprisonment for a term from five to ten years with confiscation of property, with life deprivation of the right to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities.
On January 21, the Prosecutor’s office of Pavlodar region reported details of the charges against the former head of the region. According to public prosecutor Rustam Sadvakasov, Bulat Bakauov tried to force employees of the state revenue department (Tax inspection) in Pavlodar region to reduce the amount of additional taxes and the amount of additional charges for taxes from $519.5 thousand to $13 thousand for the company “Aksu Trans Logistic”.
“During the audit, the tax authorities found numerous violations of the law. In particular, it turned out that the company didn’t pay more than $500 thousand to the budget, which is already beginning to conduct an investigation on intentional tax evasion,” said Sadvakasov.
According to the investigation, the reason for Bakauov’s participation in the company’s fate was explained by the fact that the mayor’s nephew is the head of Aksu Trans Logistic.
The Prosecutor’s office also considered it necessary to place Bakauov under arrest for a period of two months.
“The preventive measure in custody is due to the fact that Bakauov, by virtue of his position, has a real opportunity to put pressure on witnesses and other participants in the process, thereby can prevent an objective investigation, as well as hide from the investigation and the court,” the prosecutor said.
Meanwhile, the deputy of the local regional elected body, Marat Bakauov, who is the brother of the mayor of the region, was ready to pay $2.5 thousand for release of Bulat Bakauov under house arrest. However, the court heeded the arguments of the state prosecutors and authorized Bakauov’s arrest for two months.
But already on February 19, Bakauov was released under house arrest due to poor health. At the same time, the court forbade him to leave his home, talk on the phone and receive guests.
At the trial concerning the case of Bakauov, it became known that his case was re-qualified from “exceeding authority” to “abuse of power”. The new article provides for a milder sentence in the form of restriction or imprisonment for up to seven years. In addition, if a procedural agreement has been made and the process proceeds in a simplified manner in compliance with other conditions, the court can set to the accused only half of the maximum possible term, that is, in this case, 3.5 years.
That is exactly what the state prosecutor requested for Bakauov at the trial.
“The procedural agreement was concluded voluntarily, the defendant doesn’t dispute the suspicions and evidence, the damage has been fully compensated,” the prosecutor Elena Belova explained, adding to the 3.5-year restriction of freedom the requirement of life deprivation of the right to occupy public positions.
At the court, the details of “abuse of power” also became known.
During the inspection of Aksu Trans Logistic, the sole founder of which was Bulat Bakauov’s nephew, the department of state revenues of Pavlodar region revealed that the company evaded taxes of more than $530 thousand. For this, a relative of the head of Pavlodar region was threatened with an article of the Criminal Code. Bakauov, abusing his official position, asked the head of the state revenue department, Ainabekov, to hide the results of the audit and exclude the amount of additional taxes.
“On January 8, Ainabekov came to Bakauov’s office and announced the fulfillment of his request. At the same time, he provided the results of the inspection of the company with a tax amount of $7.8 thousand. He also presented the second draft of the audit results, where the amount of tax assessments amounted to $530 thousand. Bakauov called his relative and said to pay the initial amount. After that, $7.8 thousand was paid,” the prosecutor Belova said.
Since the trial was held in a simplified manner, the judge Nurlan Kairbekov didn’t delay the sentencing and sentenced the former head of Pavlodar region to the same punishment that the state prosecution requested, although he added another 100 hours of public works per year.
Leave feedback about this