A former banker, Zhomart Yertayev, convicted of embezzling funds from Bank RBK, has been released from prison. According to the press service of the Penal System Committee, an act of amnesty was applied to him. Yertayev has been placed under the supervision of the probation service for monitoring and oversight.
"Based on a court decision, an act of amnesty was applied to him, as a result of which he was released. For further monitoring and oversight, the convicted man has been placed under the supervision of the probation service," the department clarified.
According to CentralMedia24.kz, in November 2020, the court found Yertayev guilty of embezzling 144 billion tenge from Bank RBK and sentenced him to 11 years in prison. In connection with this case, 35 other people were convicted alongside Yertayev.
Later, in March 2021, Yertayev was found guilty in another criminal case — for fraud on an especially large scale and for forging documents. This time, the case involved the embezzlement of credit funds from Bank RBK, Qazaq Banki, and Eurasian Bank. Four other defendants were sentenced in connection with this case alongside him.
It has become known that Yertayev’s release was made possible after President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed the law "On Amnesty in Connection with the 30th Anniversary of the Constitution", which applies to approximately 15,000 people. According to the Head of State, amnesty is seen as an opportunity for those who have strayed to return to society.
For context, in July 2022, the Almaty prosecutor's office reported that Zhomart Yertayev, who was then imprisoned, became a figure in a new case as a witness. The supervisory authority confirmed that a new statement had been submitted to law enforcement agencies by representatives of Bank RBK. The investigation was conducted under Article 189 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan ("Misappropriation or embezzlement of entrusted property").
Meanwhile, in May 2023, the FBRK editorial team published a full list and the value of property confiscated in the criminal cases against Zhomart Yertayev.