On 27 December 2024, the inter-district civil court of Astana considered a case to invalidate the sale and purchase of a Toyota RAV4.
According to Ratel.kz, contradictory circumstances of the transaction came to light during the court proceedings.
To recap, in September 2022, the head of institution No.31 of the Committee of the Criminal Enforcement System (CCES) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the village of Dolinka, Karaganda region, Yerbolat Abikeyev, purchased a Toyota RAV4 from a certain Didar Kurmangali for 7.6 million tenge. Two months later, Abikeyev sold it to his wife, Maral Satayeva. On 15 November, the car was sold to Berik Akholdin for 8.6 million tenge, netting the couple a profit of one million tenge.
However, on 4 January 2023, it emerged that the car had a fake VIN code, whereupon police opened a criminal case and seized the car from Akholdin as physical evidence.
On 9 November 2023, the district court No.2 of the Kazybekbi district of Karaganda declared the sale and purchase agreement between Satayeva and Akholdin invalid. The court ruled that Satayeva must return 8.6 million tenge to the buyer, as well as cover legal costs.
In March 2024, the court heard another case concerning the same car. The plaintiff was Maral Satayeva, and the defendant was her husband, Yerbolat Abikeyev. Satayeva claimed that when she bought the car from Abikeyev, she did not know the vehicle’s VIN code had been tampered with. Abikeyev explained in court that he too had no suspicion that the car had any documentation issues.
Later, the court declared the transaction between Satayeva and Abikeyev invalid. The court concluded that Satayeva did not know, and could not have known, about the falsified VIN code when purchasing the car from her husband.
As it turned out, Yerbolat Abikeyev has now filed a lawsuit against Didar Kurmangali, seeking to invalidate the transaction of 3 September 2022 and recover 6.9 million tenge from the defendant – the market value of the car at the time the claim was filed.
According to the plaintiff, he bought the Toyota RAV4 for his wife for 7.6 million tenge, of which, Abikeyev claims, 6.6 million tenge were paid in cash, and 1 million tenge via the Kaspi.kz app.
However, according to documents presented in court, the transaction was officially documented for only 1 million tenge. The defendant, Kurmangali, provided a bank statement and receipt confirming only that amount. He stated that he did not receive any other funds.
During the proceedings, it emerged that the car, built in America, had a European VIN code. According to the testimony of witness Zhasulan Zhakupov, Kurmangali, as a car dealer, was aware of this fact when purchasing it.
As stated in the judicial ruling, the court viewed the defendant’s version that the car was sold for 1 million tenge with scepticism. According to a letter from ‘Kolesa Group’ dated 2 August 2024, Kurmangali had placed adverts for similar cars at prices ranging from 8.2 to 8.6 million tenge.
In the end, the judge fully upheld Abikeyev’s claim. The defendant was ordered to pay 7.6 million tenge, including the cost of the car, legal representation fees, and court costs.