In court No. 2 of Kostanay, the criminal case against the former prosecutor of Arkalyk and Rudny, Murat Uspanov, has concluded. He was found guilty of attempting to receive a bribe.
According to the publication "Kostanay News", Uspanov was initially charged with attempting to receive a bribe on a large scale. However, of the 20.1 million tenge seized from him during his arrest, 8.1 million tenge turned out to be counterfeit banknotes, resulting in the charge being downgraded to a lesser one — "attempting to receive a bribe".
During his final statement, the defendant claimed that his relatives were ready to pay a fine as a penalty.
According to the defence lawyer — the defendant's own brother, Timirkhan Uspanov, who heads a farming enterprise — the family's accumulated funds exceed 500 million tenge.
In the end, Uspanov was found guilty and sentenced to 4 years and 6 months of imprisonment, to be served in a medium-security correctional facility.
He was also banned from holding positions in public service for life. The verdict has not yet entered into force and may be appealed within 15 days.
It was previously reported that Murat Uspanov was detained in late September. At the time, it was alleged that he was suspected of receiving a bribe of 20 million tenge to drop a criminal case.