A verdict has been handed down at the Turkestan City Court against former employees of the State Institution "Zhasyl Aimak" of the regional department of natural resources and environmental management. The institution is responsible for landscaping public areas.
According to Ratel.kz, in the dock were the former head of the State Institution Ibrahim Begasilov, his deputy Ayan Yernazarov, the company's lawyer Aizhan Ainabekova and businessman Isa Muslimov.
As the investigation established, in 2023-2024, the company's top managers illegally purchased fertilisers at inflated prices. The product did not meet public procurement requirements, and the surplus funds were misappropriated. Of the allocated 20 million tenge, the damage to the state amounted to between 12 and 14 million tenge. However, the department of natural resources itself did not confirm the losses.
For his part, the head of the State Institution, Begasilov, did not admit his guilt. According to him, he gave his personal digital key for setting the public procurement requirements to his deputy.
At the same time, the lawyer brought in a familiar businessman, Isa Muslimov, who traded in fertilisers, to the deal. His product met the tender requirements, and the price was 500 tenge per litre. Subsequently, the supplier won the government contract for nearly 20 million tenge.
After an inspection by the economic investigations service, it emerged that this fertiliser was produced by a domestic firm with no connection to the supplier. That firm's sale prices were 300 tenge per litre. The investigation established that Muslimov purchased large batches from this very manufacturer. Furthermore, it was found that the fertiliser did not meet the required standards.
The court even summoned members of the tender committee to clarify how the supplier won the competition with clearly inflated prices. However, they stated that they were not experts in chemicals and that the lot conditions were drawn up according to a specification that specialists from "Zhasyl Aimak" were supposed to check.
The court found Begasilov guilty and sentenced him to 2 years and 6 months of imprisonment with a lifelong prohibition from holding certain positions. The other three defendants were sentenced to 2 years of suspended imprisonment with a ban on engaging in certain types of activities for three years.