Kazakhstan: Official caught taking bribe gets off with a fine
In Aktobe, the trial of the former head of the Department of Ecology of Aktobe region Nurzhan Akkul, who is accused of taking a large bribe, has ended.
As the investigation found out, in December last year, Akkul demanded a bribe of $930 from the businessman from Aktobe for issuing a permit for the environmental impact of emissions for objects of the first category and further general patronage.
However, the entrepreneur turned to the Anti-Corruption Agency. Corruption fighters put the chief ecologist under surveillance and collected a large amount of compromising evidence on him. As a result, the official was forced to cooperate with the investigation, thanks to which he managed to avoid arrest.
It’s noteworthy that despite the instituted criminal case, Nurzhan Akkul continued to hold his post until February 2022. Information about this was announced in early March by the first deputy akim of Aktobe region Ruslan Khambarov.
“According to my information, the former head of the environmental department is suspected of extorting a bribe from an entrepreneur in December last year. Now he cooperates with the investigation and has admitted his guilt. In this regard, they chose a measure of restraint in the form of a written undertaking not to leave the country. Akkul was fired in February of this year by order of the Minister of Ecology,” Khambarov said.
In view of the fact that the person involved in the criminal case actively cooperated with the investigation, Criminal Court of Aktobe No.2, instead of imprisonment, imposed a fine of $26.5 thousand, and also banned Akkul from holding public positions for life.
It remains to add that Nurzhan Akkul, who previously headed the Regional Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, was appointed to the post of chief ecologist of the region in April 2020.
