In Kazakhstan, judge was convicted for receiving bribe

In Almaty, the judicial epic concerning the judge of Auezov district court No.2, Andrei Steinke, was ended. The appellate court of Almaty city sentenced Steinke to 3.5 years in prison.

Andrei Steinke was detained in February 2019 on suspicion of fraud and incitement to give a bribe. According to investigators, in December of last year, his friend Bakhyt Abdieva addressed to Steinke with a request to help releasing her two apartments, which were under arrest because of a criminal case against her. Abdieva was convicted twice for fraud.

The judge promised to help her, but demanded from Abdieva $10 000, which would go to a bribe to competent people. Then, during interrogations, Steinke stated that he wanted to appropriate this money. He even tried to bribe corruption fighters by offering them his Lexus GS for helping to close the criminal case against him.

Nevertheless, despite the extensive evidence base, in July 2019, the chairman of Almaly district court of Almaty, Kuanysh Aripov, acquitted Steinke of the absence of a criminal offense.

At the press conference on the results of the work of Almaty city court for the first half of 2019, the chairman of the city court, Nurgazy Abdikanov, said that Steinke was acquitted, but dismissed because he provided Abdieva with “legal consultation”, although he had no right to do so.

The Prosecutor’s office and the victim Abdieva herself appealed the acquittal of the court. However, at the meeting of the appeal court, Abdieva withdrew her complaint, explaining that she did not want to put Steinke in prison. The Prosecutor’s office demanded 5 years of imprisonment for a judge providing legal consultation. As a result of the consideration of the case materials and the testimonies of Steinke himself, the board of appeals found the former judge guilty and sentenced him to 3.5 years in prison. Steinke will serve his term in a medium-security institution.