Kazakhstan: punishment for corruption crimes has been exacerbated
The Criminal Code of Kazakhstan has been amended to exacerbate the punishment for corruption offenses.
Thus, according to Olzhas Bektenov (first deputy chairman of the Anti-Corruption Agency), if earlier the criminal penalty for a bribe was up to five years maximum, now this period has been increased to seven years. At the same time, if earlier a bribe was belonged to crimes of average gravity, now it has been transferred to the category of serious crimes. In addition, according to the amendments, those convicted of this crime are now prohibited from applying for parole.
In addition, according to Bektenov, the punishment for police and judges for interfering in business has been exacerbated.
“For interference in business by law enforcement officers, the latter face up to five years in prison instead of two, as was in the previous edition. Committing such acts by the heads of law enforcement agencies and judges entails a penalty of up to eight years in prison,” Bektenov said at the online briefing.
The first deputy chairman of the Agency also said that in addition to the terms, the size of fines for giving a bribe and mediation in bribery were increased. According to him, now for a simple bribe in the amount of up to 50 monthly calculation index (1 MCI is equal to about $ 6.8), the size of the multiple fine has been doubled, from 10 to 20 times the size of the bribe. If, for example, the bribe is $ 300, then the fine will be $ 6,000.
