In the Mangystau region, businesswoman Aizhan Nugmanova is demanding 4.5 million tenge from the police. According to her, law enforcement officers illegally seized hundreds of kilograms of goods from her fish processing workshop. The woman now cannot pay her loans or rent.
According to Astana TV, at the beginning of February, 16 police officers arrived at the fish workshop. Under the pretext of conducting the 'Poacher' operation, they seized 400 kg of mackerel and 184 kg of sturgeon. Despite Aizhan Nugmanova showing receipts and all the documentation, the officers of the law opened a criminal case against her for illegal storage and sale of fish.
"We even asked them: 'Guys, let the fish stay in the solution, seal it up, come back tomorrow and have a look at everything, it's all legal,' but they didn't listen at all. They shoved it all into dirty bags and took it away. This went on until 4 in the morning," reported the businesswoman.
Nugmanova filed a statement with the regional prosecutor's office, and later hired a lawyer and went with complaints to the capital's chamber of entrepreneurs, the Anti-Corruption Agency, and the Prosecutor General's Office. After some time, the supervisory authority issued a ruling to terminate the criminal case due to the absence of a crime.
"Based on the results of studying the materials of the criminal case, your arguments were confirmed. In this regard, on 20.02.2025, the regional prosecutor's office made a decision to terminate the criminal case on the basis of point 2, part 1, article 35 of the criminal procedure code, that is, due to the absence of a crime. Regarding the arguments about the illegal actions of police officers, on 20.02.2025, the regional prosecutor's office registered material in the information log book, which was sent for a procedural decision to the department of the agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for combating corruption in the Mangystau region," stated the regional prosecutor's office.
In turn, Aizhan Nugmanova wants to bring the police officers to justice and recover 4.5 million tenge from them. According to her, this amount includes the cost of the seized fish, legal fees, penalties owed to clients, the flight to Astana, and moral damages.
"I can't blame everyone, saying, 'he said this,' but the first person to appear here was the local constable of Bayandy village. The first time he came, he got acquainted with my son and asked what was going to be here. My son replied: a fish processing workshop. The second time he came, he started asking him for fish. My son politely refused. I can't directly accuse him, but all the local constables were involved. I want them to compensate the 4.5 million," the businesswoman recounted.
The police have not yet commented on the incident. In turn, the Mangystau regional chamber of entrepreneurs decided to support the woman.
"We know about this story. The actions of the police were illegal. We will not abandon our entrepreneur and will definitely demand compensation and help in the court process. The person lost their goods, and as a result, the business was idle for more than a week," said Amirgali Zhanayev, deputy director of the chamber of entrepreneurs of the Mangystau region.