Atyrau Oil Refinery (ANPZ) has found itself at the centre of a scandal involving a possible change of leadership and conflicting reports about an investigation by the anti-corruption service. The General Director of ANPZ, Galymzhan Zhussanbayev, went on sick leave on 7 April, and the very next day, ballots for a postal vote on the early termination of his powers began to be sent to the company's participants.
According to information from the Telegram channel "Halyqstan", on 8 April, ballots were sent to participants of LLP "ANPZ" for a postal vote with an agenda to terminate the powers of the current director early and appoint Kuanysh Bishimov, who currently heads the Pavlodar Petrochemical Plant, in his place. The official ANPZ website confirms that the meeting is scheduled for 9 April in the form of a written vote without the personal presence of participants.
According to media reports, the atmosphere at the plant is tense: some employees expect the departure of the director, who is described as "scandalous", while new staff prefer to refrain from commenting. Sources from "Halyqstan" report that employees fear legal proceedings for careless remarks.
This event was preceded by a series of conflicting reports. In January, information appeared in the media stating that the anti-corruption service was investigating a case against the General Director of ANPZ, Galymzhan Zhussanbayev, and his deputies, Raspekova and Yeskaliyev. Suspicions were reported of receiving a particularly large bribe (Part 4 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan).
The ANPZ press service subsequently denied this information.
"In connection with the publication in the Telegram channel of the publication Ulysmedia and other sources of information regarding the alleged commencement of a criminal investigation against the head of the LLP 'Atyrau Oil Refinery' Galymzhan Zhussanbayev, we officially declare: this information is false and completely does not correspond to reality", the official statement said.
The press service also stated that there were no official notifications or requests from law enforcement agencies and called the publications an attempt to damage the plant's reputation.
Now it is reported that the anti-corruption service is conducting searches at the addresses of some former ANPZ managers. The press service of the Agency for Combating Corruption has so far neither confirmed nor denied this information.
It is worth noting that in February 2024, Galymzhan Zhussanbayev and the chief engineer of ANPZ, Adilet Shoshanbasov, were suspended from their positions after an inspection by a commission, as announced at the time by the press service of "KazMunayGas". Following this, a statement by Shoshanbasov appeared online accusing Zhussanbayev of creating an alarming atmosphere at the plant and of financial embezzlement.
However, in June, the Astana court reinstated Galymzhan Zhussanbayev to his position, justifying the decision on the grounds that he was dismissed "during the probationary period in the absence of negative work results, without specifying reasons".
The current situation indicates a continuation of the conflict surrounding the leadership of an enterprise important for Kazakhstan.