At the beginning of 2023, the then Minister of Agriculture, Yerbol Karashukeyev, stated that 5.2 million hectares of agricultural land had been returned to the state in 2022. It was also announced that a further 5 million hectares of unused agricultural land was planned to be confiscated in 2023.
This work was meant to fulfil the President's instruction to take measures for the rational use of the country's land resources and to reduce the shortage of pastures. The only body directly responsible for this procedure is the Committee for Land Resources Management.
However, we began to receive complaints from various regions, most of them from the Kostanay region, concerning the fact that land confiscation is affecting small and medium-sized farms, whereas the measures were originally intended to target the landholdings of latifundists (large landowners).
The editorial board of the FBRC decided to study in more detail the dynamics of changes in the areas of the largest landowners in the regions, as well as the reputation of these agriculturalists, and began its analysis with a region not known for grain production - the Pavlodar region.
AGROFIRM "AKZHAR ONDIRIS" LLP
Thus, the largest owner of agricultural land in the Pavlodar region as of 2023 is Agrofirm "Akzhar Ondiris" LLP (production of meat and poultry meat products). The company has been registered since 2013. The first head of the LLP is Gulzira Kazylova, and the founder is Aitmukhambet Kozhabekov.
Kazylova also owns "Shygan" Credit Partnership LLP. Aitmukhambet Kozhabekov appears in companies such as "Shygan" Credit Partnership LLP, "Pavlodartas" LLP, "Agromashservice" Association ALE, "STK PV" LLP, "Kazalken" LLP, and the "Olzhabay Batyr Kory" Public Foundation.
Agrofirm "Akzhar Ondiris" LLP has a high degree of risk regarding tax obligations. For 2023, the agricultural firm has already paid approximately 3.6 million tenge in taxes (in 2022 – 4.6 million tenge, in 2021 – 3.2 million tenge, in 2020 – 3.2 million tenge).
Agrofirm "Akzhar Ondiris" LLP has more than 40 government contracts, the largest being in 2016-2017 with the State Institution "Specialised Boarding School-College of Olympic Reserve" of the Department of Physical Culture and Sports of the Pavlodar region for the supply of horsemeat totalling approximately 9 million tenge.
Regarding the LLP's litigation, in 2016 the State Institution "Department of Land Relations and Inspection for the Pavlodar Region" filed a lawsuit against Agrofirm "Akzhar-Ondiris" LLP for forced confiscation of the land plot, due to the fact that in 2013 an inspection revealed that the LLP was not using pasture land plots of almost 3,000 hectares for their intended purpose.
An order was issued to rectify this violation within a year, but Agrofirm "Akzhar-Ondiris" LLP did not take measures to use the land plot for its intended purpose within the specified period. Despite this, the Specialised Inter-District Economic Court of the Pavlodar region rejected the claim for confiscation, as it did not find sufficient evidence from the state body of misuse of the land.
Furthermore, in 2019, Agrofirm "Akzhar-Ondiris" LLP was brought to administrative responsibility and fined a total of 2.9 million tenge for transporting kumis abroad without the relevant documents certified with a seal.
Also, from Russian media it became known that in 2020, specialists from the Rosselkhoznadzor for the Omsk Region established at customs a case of transporting preserves across the border without veterinary accompanying documents. It was reported that, according to the available labelling, the manufacturer of the preserves was Agrofirm "Akzhar Ondiris" LLP.
"ABAY" LLP
Another large landowner in the Pavlodar region is "Abay" LLP (growing grain and leguminous crops, including seed production). The company has been registered since 1994. The first head and founder of the LLP is Nikolai Miller.
"Abay" LLP has a medium degree of risk regarding tax obligations. For 2023, the company has already paid approximately 63.2 million tenge in taxes (in 2022 – 94.4 million tenge, in 2021 – 114.1 million tenge, in 2020 – 97.9 million tenge).
The LLP has more than 40 government contracts, the largest being: in 2019 with the State Institution "Department of Education of Irtysh District" of the Department of Education of the Pavlodar region for services for the transportation of stone and brown coal amounting to 8.1 million tenge; and in 2021 with the State Institution on the Right of Economic Management "Irtysh District Hospital" of the Department of Healthcare of the Pavlodar region for the supply of brown coal totalling approximately 19.8 million tenge.
In addition, the company provides a range of services, such as utility services (landfill burrowing, snow removal work), property rental, water supply, etc. It is worth noting that the company has no contracts involving grain crops.
The head and founder, Nikolai Miller, also owns "NAN" Farm and "Irtyshskoye Experimental Farm" LLP. "Abay" LLP has about 70 court cases, and Nikolai Miller himself has around 14.
"GALITSKOYE" LLP
"Galitskoye" LLP (breeding dairy cattle), which has about 70.7 thousand hectares in the Pavlodar region, was registered in 1998. The owners of the LLP are Lidiya and Alexander Kasitsin. Alexander Kasitsin also owns "Galitskoye i K" LLP and "Kasko Agroservice" LLP. Lidiya Kasitsina has Sole Proprietor "Kasitsina L. F."
The company has a medium degree of risk regarding tax obligations, as well as a VAT debt amounting to 746 thousand tenge. For 2023, the LLP paid approximately 195.8 million tenge in taxes (in 2022 – 320.3 million tenge, in 2021 – 198.8 million tenge, in 2020 – 136.5 million tenge).
The LLP has about 200 government contracts, the largest being: in 2020 and 2023 with the State Institution "Department of Housing and Communal Services, Passenger Transport, Highways, Construction, Architecture and Urban Planning of Uspen District" of the Pavlodar region for construction work amounting to 28.4 million tenge and 92.9 million tenge respectively.
In addition, the company provides a range of services, such as utility services (heat and water supply, garbage and domestic waste removal, etc.), property rental, food supply, construction work, etc.
In 2019, "BIK" Farm managed to get a court to declare invalid a land lease agreement for 4.6 thousand hectares concluded between the State Institution "Department of Land Relations of Uspen District" and "Galitskoye" LLP, arguing that the commission had allowed participants whose applications did not meet the requirements to take part in the competition.
In 2021, another similar competition was held, after which the district akim also filed a lawsuit to declare the contracts with the competition winners invalid. The court initially granted the akim's complaint, but later overturned its previous decision.
"AGRO-DAMU" LLP
The fourth largest latifundist in the Pavlodar region for 2023 is "Agro-Damu" LLP (growing grain and leguminous crops, including seed production). The company has been registered since 2010. The first head of the LLP is Ruslan Bukeiev, and the founders are: Ruslan Smagulov, Madina Zhakupova. Smagulov also owns "Synergy PV" LLP, and "Ekibastas" LLP. Madina Zhakupova has Sole Proprietor Ertis Nan.
"Agro-Damu" LLP has a medium degree of risk regarding tax obligations. For 2023, the company paid approximately 90.6 million tenge in taxes (in 2022 – 115.1 million tenge, in 2021 – 112.8 million tenge, in 2020 – 57 million tenge).
The LLP has more than 40 government contracts. In 2018, the State Institution "Department of Passenger Transport and Highways of the Pavlodar Region" concluded a contract with "Agro-Damu" LLP for the maintenance of the highway Kachiry-Mikhailovka-RF border. The final contract amount was 279.5 million tenge.
Another major contract for "Agro-Damu" LLP was concluded in 2020 with JSC "SEC "Pavlodar" for the supply of 1,000 tonnes of first-grade flour amounting to 108 million tenge. In addition to flour supplies, the LLP provides a range of services such as highway maintenance, haymaking, and landfill burrowing.
In 2022, due to the high increase in flour prices, during an analysis by the Agency for the Protection and Development of Competition (APDC), it was found that during 2021, some market entities were selling flour at unjustifiably inflated prices. On this basis, the antimonopoly authority issued notices to a number of companies, including "Agro-Damu" LLP.
In April 2023, the district State Revenue Department for the Kostanay region filed a lawsuit to declare the contract between "Kazinnovation LTD" LLP and "Agro-Damu" LLP invalid. It was reported that in 2019, "Kazinnovation LTD" LLP sold goods to "Green Food" LLP amounting to more than 166.3 million tenge. During the inspection, the authority could not establish the source of origin of the goods.
The court established that the supplier was "Agro-Damu" LLP, but the necessary documents proving the legality of these transactions were not provided, therefore the transactions were declared invalid.
"AGROEXPORT PAVLODAR" LLP
"AgroExport Pavlodar" LLP (breeding of other types of animals), which has about 59.6 thousand hectares in the Pavlodar region, was registered in 2020. The first head and founder of the company is Kanatbek Uzembayev. Uzembayev is also one of the founders of "Agroexport LTD" LLP.
AgroExport Pavlodar has a medium degree of risk regarding tax obligations. For 2023, the LLP paid approximately 2.8 million tenge in taxes (in 2022 – 7.6 million tenge, in 2021 – 26.5 million tenge, in 2020 – 7.9 million tenge).
In 2022, while herding its personal livestock, several cows from "AgroExport Pavlodar" LLP strayed from the herd and fell into a trench dug in the middle of a field. As a result, the LLP incurred losses related to the slaughter of the livestock and the rental of transport to extract the animals from the pit.
Later, the company intended to recover material damages through court from the land user - "Vector Vision" LLP, on whose territory the trench was dug. Representatives of "Vector Vision" LLP stated in court that it was not a trench, but watering holes (kopani) that were legally dug on the territory of their own land plot. The court did not satisfy the claim of "AgroExport Pavlodar" LLP.
In 2020, Kanatbek Uzembayev was in litigation with his own other company. Being one of the founders of "AgroExport LTD" LLP (25% belonged to Uzembayev, 75% to "Zengi baba-2009" LLP), Uzembayev sent a request to the legal address of the LLP for information about the activities of this company, particularly data on assets, income, expenses, etc.
However, because the LLP was not located at its legal address, the letter was not received. Consequently, Uzembayev filed a lawsuit against "AgroExport LTD" LLP to compel the provision of this information, arguing that as a founder, he has the right to be informed of this data and at least know the actual address of his own LLP.
Furthermore, in the same year, following an extraordinary general meeting of the participants of "AgroExport LTD" LLP, a number of decisions were made regarding the company's activities. Uzembayev was not satisfied with these results; moreover, he stated that the previously requested information was still not provided to him, so he again went to court.
The court granted the claims. But, apparently, Uzembayev was still not kept informed of the company's activities, as later he similarly sought to be provided with information about the activities of "AgroExport LTD" LLP and to annul the results of meetings he personally did not attend.
Regarding the activities of "AgroExport LTD" LLP, it became known from open sources that in 2019 the company acted as the operator for the supply of cattle under the state programme "Sybaga". "Akpura" Farm intended to purchase 240 head of "Hereford" breed cattle from Russia, paying the operator an advance of 126 million tenge.
The remaining amount was to be paid after receiving the first batch of animals. However, "AgroExport LTD" LLP did not deliver the cattle within the period specified in the contract. Earlier, we reported a similar situation that occurred with another farm in the Pavlodar region.
Let us