The head of the "Abay" mobile base point of the first coastal guard division of the National Security Committee's border service department in the Mangystau region, Senior Sergeant Berik Nursagatov, and the commander of the border patrol ship "Bars", Lieutenant-Commander Timur Suleimenov, stole 14,329.5 litres of diesel fuel between March and April 2023.
According to Ratel.kz, while on combat duty on the border patrol ship, Suleimenov altered the usual route, sailed to the "Abay" mobile base point, and there drained diesel fuel from the ship, which Nursagatov then sold.
It is reported that a boatswain of the ship filed a complaint about the illegal draining of fuel from the military vessel. He subsequently helped operatives document the border guards' criminal actions.
According to him, the entire crew knew that the ship deviated from its course and entered the mobile base point during duty, but no one reported it. They were afraid of losing their jobs.
At the same time, it emerged that when fuel was being drained, false coordinates of the ship were passed to the duty officer, reporting that the vessel was on combat duty.
The investigation proved that the border guards stole diesel fuel worth 3,416,268.84 tenge. As stated in the verdict, the ship's crew voluntarily reimbursed this amount. Nursagatov and Suleimenov, for their part, did not admit guilt.
“Nursagatov claimed that he needed to check the valve of a barge, which was leaking. Therefore, he asked Suleimenov to call in and drain the fuel, which was then pumped back onto the ship. He also drained fuel from the barge into civilian cars - again in order to check the valve. Afterwards, according to him, this fuel was poured back into the barge. At times, Nursagatov admitted, he gave fuel on credit to drivers of non-military vehicles. But he did not report this to his superiors.”", the report states.
In the end, the court sentenced Nursagatov and Suleimenov to three years' imprisonment. The sentence has not yet entered into legal force.