A video is circulating online in which businessman Azat Bolatov asks the country's leadership to oversee the investigation of a criminal case in which he is the victim of fraud.
According to media reports, he spoke about the possibility of illegally re-registering cars in southern Kazakhstan.
"I, Bolatov Azat, a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan, engaged in private entrepreneurship, lease vehicles. I am forced to ask you to intervene in the investigation of a criminal case and take it under special control", said Bolatov.
According to him, the criminal case is being investigated by the police department of the Zhambyl region. It became known that in June the businessman fell victim to fraudsters who took possession of his cars.
"Of the eight stolen cars, I personally found two, which were driving around with false number plates, and one of them had its VIN code tampered with and was illegally registered at the AutoCZN in Shymkent. These individuals most likely have patrons in law enforcement agencies and AutoCZNs, as they commit crimes with particular confidence in impunity, without any fear of the law. <...> these individuals are somehow at large without being detained, even though police officers have interrogation records", said the businessman.
The businessman is asking President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, Prosecutor General Berik Asylov and Interior Minister Yerzhan Sadenov to intervene in the situation and ensure an objective investigation of the criminal case. According to him, he is still paying off loans for the eight stolen cars.
"I had to sell my only home, where I lived with my family, which includes two young children and elderly parents with Group II disabilities, in a family where I am the sole breadwinner. Your intervention is necessary to restore justice and stop further crimes by this group, which may arise as a result of this impunity and threaten not only my right to a fair trial but also the safety of other citizens. I also want to note that a decree from the Prime Minister ordered an investigation into the shadow schemes for registering vehicles", Bolatov concluded.
It is worth recalling that in March 2021, a transnational group involved in smuggling cars from Russia and illegally registering them in Kazakhstan was detained in the North Kazakhstan Region. The Department of Economic Investigations discovered and seized 54 passenger cars, 6 trucks, a pile of documents and state registration plates.
At the time, it was said that the cars were brought into Kazakhstan disguised as spare parts; however, according to our information, in Russia these cars were registered on credit using front men at private car dealerships, or brought in from Armenia without customs clearance. At that time, when buying a car, we recommended checking the numbers, verifying them against Russian databases and weighing all the risks when purchasing a car registered in Russia.
In March 2023, a meeting was held in Kostanay with the heads of all structural units of Anticor, the "Government for Citizens" NJSC, and the Administrative Police Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan. At the meeting, the founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation of Kazakhstan, Kirill Pavlov, stated that in Kostanay alone there were about 700 cars with tampered VIN numbers, while in Petropavlovsk their number was 400-500 units.
The police prohibit registering such cars; what the state intends to do with them is unknown. In this regard, Pavlov proposed distributing them among rural teachers, doctors and local police officers. The proposal was recorded in the minutes, but no implementation of such a practice was reported.
In July of this year, Kirill Pavlov released a video on his YouTube channel, in which he spoke about the "grey market" for cars in Kazakhstan and the schemes for illegally registering vehicles brought in across the Kazakh border.