A trial has taken place in Kostanay for the chairman of the state inspection committee of the agro-industrial complex of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Darkhan Abdikarimov, and the director of the LLP "Agro-Sector", Saken Ospanov.
According to the Telegram channel "Our Newspaper (Kostanay)", they were found guilty of receiving and giving a bribe in the amount of 4.2 million tenge. The bribe was intended to secure Ospanov as the winner of a tender for the purchase of pesticides to kill locusts.
The court sentenced Abdikarimov to 3.5 years, and Ospanov to 3 years' imprisonment in a medium-security colony.
For context, the founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation of the Republic of Kazakhstan (FBK), Kirill Pavlov, reported that in mid-October the Anti-Corruption Service took an interest in Darkhan Abdikarimov.
It is worth noting that in July, Abdikarimov stated that when fighting locusts, it is absolutely forbidden to completely exterminate the insects, as this could disrupt the stable ecosystem chain.
In November, the Anti-Corruption Service shared a video showing a package of money being handed over to Abdikarimov. It was reported at the time that he received 5% of the value of the state procurement contract for the supply of pesticides against locusts.