Kazakhstan: ex-judge was sentenced to 5 years in prison for bribe

In Chimkent, the trial in the case of the former chairman of the judicial board for civil cases of Turkestan region Tugel Bekimbetov, accused of taking a bribe in the amount of $ 7,000, has been ended.

Bekimbetov was detained red-handed by employees of the Anti-Corruption Agency on April 27, 2020. He received a bribe from the bankrupt and rehabilitation manager Keles Erezhepov. As it turned out during the investigation, the money was intended for the judge to uphold the decision of the court of first instance on the legal entity’s bankruptcy. In August, the former judge and bankruptcy manager were brought to trial.

Bekimbetov was charged under the article “Taking a bribe in a significant amount”, and Erezhepov was charged under the article “Giving a bribe in a significant amount”.

Having examined all the circumstances of the case, the court found both defendants guilty of the crimes they were charged with. The former judge was sentenced to five years in prison, and the bankruptcy manager got off with two and a half years in prison.