Department of the Agency for Financial Monitoring (AFM) for the Abai region has completed an investigation into two entrepreneurs suspected of illegally mining sand.
According to the press service of the agency, from September 2023 to October 2024 in Semey, the suspects were engaged in the extraction and sale of sand without the appropriate licence.
As a result, more than 68,000 tonnes of sand were illegally extracted, causing damage to the state amounting to 272 million tenge.
It is reported that the individuals involved sold the sand through an individual enterprise using forged certificates of conformity. The criminal income from sales amounted to more than 150 million tenge.
Part of the funds was used by the suspects to purchase a loader, and they generated additional income of 6.2 million tenge.
By court order, their property was seized to the value of more than 181 million tenge. Among the seized assets are 11 vehicles, 2 apartments, a plot of land, and accounts receivable amounting to 17 million tenge. The case has been sent to the prosecutor's office for approval of the indictment.
The editorial board of FBRK has repeatedly raised the issue of illegal sand mining and the associated environmental changes. We have reported on the problems affecting the Astana Reservoir (Vyacheslav Reservoir), the Ishim River, and the Ural River.
It is worth recalling that in February 2025, following reports about a decline in water quality in the Astana Reservoir, we prepared an article about companies whose activities may have been impacting the ecosystem.
Later, our editorial team released a whole series of articles about the situation on the Ishim River: journalist and public figure Kirill Pavlov identified areas where mineral extraction was taking place, causing bank erosion and damage to the riverside environment. We also analysed who owns these lands and sought comments from the relevant authorities.
A similar pattern of sand mining is also observed on the Ural River. Intensive use of coastal lands and sand extraction have significantly altered the river's landscape. We sought to understand how economic activity is affecting the Ural and received official explanations from the responsible bodies.