The editorial board of FBRK continues to analyse the dynamics of Kazakhstan's largest land users in order to determine how much agricultural land has been seized from them recently.
Let us remind you that we are receiving numerous complaints from various regions that land seizures are happening from small and medium-sized farms, while the work should have been aimed at seizing the territories of latifundists.
The body directly responsible for this procedure is the Committee for Land Resources Management. After reviewing the territories of Pavlodar Region and Kostanay Region, we concluded that there have been no significant changes in the areas of the latifundists.
In connection with this, we are trying to understand in whose interests the CLRM is carrying out the work of land seizure. In this article, we will begin analysing the land users of another grain-growing region – Akmola Region.
KDK AGRO LLP
One of the largest land users in the region is KDK Agro LLP (cultivation of cereals and legumes, including seed production), registered in 2011. The head and one of the founders is Daulet Kurbanov, co-founder - Oxana Medvedeva.
The company has a medium risk level regarding tax obligations. For 2023, the LLP paid 224.1 million tenge in taxes (in 2022 – 307 million tenge, in 2021 – 54.8 million tenge, in 2020 – 41.4 million tenge).
Regarding legal proceedings, in 2016 Polymya LLC recovered a debt from KDK Agro LLP through the court for payment for work completed amounting to €40,700 (approximately 15.6 million tenge at the 2016 exchange rate).
In 2019, Eurasia Group AG, the national dealer of John Deere agricultural machinery, recovered a debt from KDK Agro LLP under a temporary repayable financial assistance agreement of €25,000 (over 100 million tenge at the 2019 exchange rate), a penalty of €25,000 (over 10 million tenge), a fine of 30 million tenge, and a state duty of 4.5 million tenge.
ZHURAVLIOVKA-1 LLP
Zhuravliovka-1 LLP (cultivation of cereals and legumes, including seed production), occupying approximately 86.4 thousand hectares of share land in Bulandy District, Akmola Region, was registered in 2003. The head is Yerlan Tokanov. The LLP has over 1,700 shareholders.
The company has a low risk level regarding tax obligations. For 2023, the LLP paid 1.8 billion tenge in taxes (in 2022 – 1.3 billion tenge, in 2021 – 829.4 million tenge, in 2020 – 515.5 million tenge).
In 2022, Zhuravliovka-1 LLP received an administrative fine of 1 million tenge for failure to eliminate fire safety violations at facilities in the Bulandy and Burabay districts.
Another large land user in Akmola Region, with approximately 35.4 thousand hectares of share land, according to the Department of Agriculture, is another LLP with a similar name - "Zhuravliovka-1", this time located in Burabay District.
From open sources, it became known that as of 2021, Zhuravliovka-1 LLP was one of the leading farms in Burabay District, where legumes and oilseeds were grown (and perhaps are still being grown). The director of this LLP is Nikolai Radchenko.
In December 2022, the media reported a scandal that arose following a meeting of shareholders in the village of Kapitonovka, Akmola Region. At that time, as journalists wrote, residents of several villages in Burabay District, who were participants of Zhuravliovka-1 LLP from Bulandy District, attempted to reclaim their conditional land shares from the partnership.
Earlier, they were dissatisfied with the lack of dividend payments, and only after appealing to the head of state in the spring of 2022 did the villagers receive payments for their shares. It is worth noting that at the meeting, it was promised that the issue of the villagers leaving the partnership would be resolved before the new year.
ROSTOVSKOYE-AGRO LLP
Rostovskoye-Agro LLP (cultivation of cereals and legumes, including seed production) was registered in 2019. The head is Bolat Kabiyev, founder - Darkhan Aisin. Kabiyev also appears in companies such as Zharkainskaya Neftbaza LLP, Donskoye-Agro LLP, Otradnoye-Agro LLP, Birsuat-Agro LLP, Rostovskoye-Agro LLP and Nurai-N LLP.
The company has a medium risk level regarding tax obligations. For 2023, the LLP paid approximately 296.6 million tenge in taxes (in 2022 – 75.3 million tenge, in 2021 – 181.7 million tenge, in 2020 – 57.8 million tenge).
In 2019, Rostovskoye-Agro LLP received a fine of 505 thousand tenge for failure to comply with an order to carry out necessary plant quarantine measures. In 2022, the LLP was again fined for the same violations, this time 214 thousand tenge. In addition, in 2021, Grain Insurance Company JSC recovered a debt of 5.2 million tenge from the LLP through the court.
In 2023, Rostovskoye-Agro LLP managed to have property released from encumbrances through judicial proceedings, specifically land plots with a total area of nearly 4 thousand hectares, which had previously been seized by the State Revenue Department for Zharkain District to cover tax arrears.
ZAPOROZHYE-AGRO LLP
Another land-user company, owned by the aforementioned Bolat Kabiyev - Zaporozhye-Agro LLP (cultivation of cereals and legumes, including seed production) was registered in 2019.
Zaporozhye-Agro LLP has a low risk level regarding tax obligations. For 2023, the company paid 126.7 million tenge in taxes (in 2022 – 113.6 million tenge, in 2021 – 93.1 million tenge, in 2020 – 49 million tenge).
In 2020, the State Revenue Department for Zhaksyn District, due to existing tax arrears, seized the property of Zaporozhye-Agro LLP, namely – a previously acquired grain storage facility with a total area of 1 hectare, along with a land plot of 0.2450 hectares. In 2021, the company managed to have the property released from restrictions through judicial proceedings.
In 2022, Zaporozhye-Agro LLP received a fine of 430 thousand tenge for non-compliance with a number of fire safety requirements at the facility.
PARTIZANSKOYE-1 LLP
Partizanskoye-1 LLP (cultivation of cereals and legumes, including seed production), occupying approximately 40.4 thousand hectares of share land in Bulandy District, Akmola Region, was registered in 1999. The head of the company is Bekaidar Zhampeisov. The LLP has over 370 shareholders.
The company has a high risk level regarding tax obligations, as well as tax arrears amounting to approximately 122 million tenge. For 2023, the agricultural firm paid 27.6 million tenge in taxes (in 2022 – 61 million tenge, in 2021 – 62.8 million tenge, in 2020 – 45.7 million tenge).
Partizanskoye-1 LLP has a debt under enforcement proceedings amounting to 4.6 billion tenge, nine bans on registration actions since 2016, is on the list of debtors temporarily restricted from leaving the Republic of Kazakhstan, and has been declared bankrupt since October 2023.
The head Bekaidar Zhampeisov, due to the company's debts to Agrarian Credit Corporation JSC, KazAgroFinance JSC, Logos Grain LLP and individuals, is also listed as a debtor under enforcement proceedings for an amount of approximately 2 billion tenge and has a ban on leaving Kazakhstan.
To be continued ...