Former vice-mayor of Nur-Sultan is on the international wanted list
The Anti-Corruption Agency of Kazakhstan is completing a criminal investigation into the theft during the construction of the LRT system – passenger rail transport in the capital of the Republic – in the city of Nur-Sultan. According to the investigation, not only the heads of private contractors, but also some officials of Astana LRT, as well as the capital’s mayor’s office, including former deputy mayor Kanat Sultanbekov, participated in the multi-billion-dollar theft schemes.
“The criminal scheme was organized by the deputy mayor of Astana (Sultanbekov) and the head of Astana LRT (Talgat Ardan) with the assistance of foreign and Kazakh companies. These officials, with the participation of the heads of the mayor’s departments, Amanzholov and Nurpeisov, approved expenses with an overstatement of more than $72 million,” said Sergey Perov, the head of the second department of the Anti-Corruption Agency of Kazakhstan.
He explained that in order to embezzle budgetary funds, imaginary agreements were concluded at inflated prices with contractors and subcontractors, and the received money was cashed out through false enterprises.
“As a result, the state suffered damage in the amount of more than $15 million. The case involves five former city hall officials from the top management department, six heads of contracting organizations. Five suspects are in custody. Three persons – Sultanbekov, Ardan and one of the heads of contracting organizations, Abdukhamitov – are put on the international wanted list. Their location is being established jointly with Interpol,” the Anti-Corruption Department said.
Recall that the development of the project of the LRT system in Astana began in 2014, and the construction itself began formally in 2017. Construction was undertaken by a consortium of Chinese companies China Railway No.2 Engineering Group Co., Ltd. The cost of the project, with a length of 22.4 km, amounted to 1.8 billion dollars.
It should be noted that Kanat Sultanbekov served as deputy mayor of Astana in 2009-2014. At the beginning of 2015, he took the post of deputy chairman of the board of the national company “Kazakhstan Engineering” and worked there until February 2017. In November of the same year, Sultanbekov was sentenced to 10 years in prison for committing corruption offenses with life deprivation of the right to occupy certain positions. However, in February 2018, the unserved part of the sentence was replaced with a fine of $6 million.
