(5 January 2026 | Source: Telegram channel 'Kozachkov offside')
A 42-year-old entrepreneur, Rinat Galimulin from Almaty, has been sentenced for the illegal use of the trademark 'Alel milaya nezhnost'. His company, Halal Food Service LLP, traded in chicken of unknown origin, independently printing the branded packaging of a major producer.
HOW THE CONFLICT DEVELOPED
According to journalist Mikhail Kozachkov in his Telegram channel 'Kozachkov offside', three years ago the organisations were partners. Halal Food Service LLP under Galimulin's leadership officially collaborated with Alel Agro JSC, a major poultry producer.
The relationship soured due to financial disagreements. However, even after the partnership ended, the firm's employees continued to sell chicken under the other party's trademark, independently manufacturing the branded packaging.
The brand owner discovered the violation while monitoring Almaty markets and reported it to the police. The investigation was conducted under Article 222 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan — illegal use of a trademark, service mark, and other intellectual property objects.
WHY THE CASE IS UNIQUE
According to the Committee on Legal Statistics and Special Records of the General Prosecutor's Office, as cited by Kozachkov, only two proceedings were registered under this provision in 2025. Only the case against Galimulin reached a court decision.
Article 222 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan is classified as a criminal misdemeanour with a minimum penalty of a maximum of 20 days' arrest or a fine of 80 MCI (314,560 tenge in 2025 - ed. note FBCR). This makes it practically unenforceable.
SENTENCE AND CONSEQUENCES
The accused did not plead guilty, but the collected evidence proved sufficient. Trading under another's brand has been halted, and the entrepreneur must pay compensation to the injured party.
The court sentenced Galimulin to 30 hours of community service, but he is exempt from serving it under an amnesty. However, the entrepreneur is obliged to compensate the trademark owner for damages amounting to more than 13 million tenge. The verdict has not yet entered into legal force.
WHO OWNS THE AFFECTED COMPANY
As Kozachkov notes, Alel Agro JSC is owned by entrepreneur Margulan Seisembayev and his wife, as well as the former son-in-law of Akhmetzhan Yesimov — Galimzhan Yesenov.
Seisembayev himself has previously attracted the attention of regulatory authorities. It will be recalled that in 2023, the Talgar District Prosecutor's Office attempted to seize a land plot of 4.5 hectares from him.
The reason was the illegal change of designated purpose of the land from irrigated arable land to the construction of a meat-processing plant. Despite violations confirmed by the Almaty Region Department for Land Resource Management, the court did not uphold the supervisory authority's demands. The plot remained in private ownership.