Journalists have conducted a detailed analysis of the assets of Argyn Nigmatulin, the former deputy of the Karaganda Regional Maslikhat, who was recently placed on the wanted list. The investigation reveals an extensive network of business interests and property in Kazakhstan and abroad belonging to Nigmatulin and his family.
It will be recalled that on 3 March, a search case was opened against Argyn Nigmatulin in Astana. The search was initiated by the prosecutor's office, and the body conducting the search is the Anti-Corruption Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, Nigmatulin and others are suspected of embezzling budget funds allocated for the development of ice hockey in the Karaganda region.
SPORTS ASSETS AND BUSINESS INTERESTS
Argyn Nigmatulin is well known in Kazakhstan's sporting circles. As reported by journalists from the Telegram channel 'Shishkin_like', from 2009 to 2018 he managed the Karaganda ice hockey club 'Saryarka' and remains a co-founder of the Kazakhstan Ice Hockey Federation. For his work, Nigmatulin was awarded the title of Honoured Worker of Sport of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Upon leaving his post as president of Saryarka, he stated his intention to focus on business in order to 'make way for the young'. In its investigation, 'Shishkin_like' also references the sports Telegram channel 'Uncle Vanya', which previously published material regarding state funding of HC Saryarka during Nigmatulin's tenure, as well as changes in the club's management after 2022.
EXTENSIVE BUSINESS NETWORK
Through LLP 'Nbn Inc.', Argyn Nigmatulin owns the Doszhan Sport ice rink in Karaganda and the land plot of 0.5 hectares on which it sits. The company was registered in 2018 and specialises in the rental and management of its own property. According to data from Adata.kz, the firm owns 13 land plots in the Karaganda region and Astana, and its tax payments since 2018 amount to approximately 260 million tenge. A co-founder of LLP 'Nbn Inc.' is Argyn Nigmatulin's 26-year-old daughter, Amina.
Notably, the Regional Specialised Children's and Youth Olympic Reserve School for Ice Hockey, which belongs to the Department of Physical Culture and Sports of the Karaganda Region, has been renting the Doszhan Sport rink for five years. Procurement has been carried out predominantly from a single source through direct contract agreements. The total value of contracts and additional agreements has reached 1.2 billion tenge.
In addition to his sports business, Nigmatulin owns the peasant farm 'N.A.Z.' in the Bukhar-Zhyrau district of the Karaganda region, which specialises in horse breeding. Tax payments from this enterprise, according to Adata.kz, amount to over 500,000 tenge.
FAMILY BUSINESS
Argyn Nigmatulin's daughter, Amina, has been the owner of LLP 'Future Generation' since 2020, which operates a hotel business in Karaganda. This is believed to be the Tumar Apart Hotel. The company's tax payments since 2015 amount to approximately 150 million tenge.
Until 2021, the hotel participated in state procurement, providing services to the Saryarka ice hockey club and the Regional Specialised Children's and Youth Sports School of Olympic Reserve for Ice Hockey. The total value of contracts reached 282 million tenge, with the majority concerning the rental of a sports base for the team and coaches.
Nigmatulin's wife, Naile Belbayeva, was also involved in the hotel business in Karaganda as a sole trader; however, her enterprise is currently listed as inactive.
FOREIGN PROPERTY
In 2024, the name of Argyn Nigmatulin appeared in an investigation by Radio Azattyk concerning foreign property owned by current and former members of parliament and regional maslikhats. According to the publication, an apartment in the Bahar complex in Dubai, measuring 70 square metres and valued at $380,000 (approximately 190 million tenge at the current exchange rate), is registered in the name of Nigmatulin's wife.
When journalists from Azattyk contacted the former deputy of the Karaganda Regional Maslikhat and asked whether the property registered in his wife's name had been declared, Nigmatulin replied that only official bodies are authorised to request declarations, and asked them not to call him again.
It will be recalled that Argyn Nigmatulin is the older brother of well-known political figures from the 'Old Kazakhstan' era — Nurlan and Yerlan Nigmatulin. Nurlan Nigmatulin served as Speaker of the Mazhilis, while Yerlan Nigmatulin was a deputy in both the Mazhilis and the Senate, although he is better known as a successful businessman.