The Ministry of Agriculture, through the regional department for land resource management, has filed a lawsuit against Bolat Marzhikpayev, businesswoman Maira Nurturina, and the land relations department of the Burabay district. The subject of the dispute is the legality of the transfer of plots within the Burabay State National Nature Park (SNNP).
According to the Telegram channel "Nege.Aqsha", the basis for the court appeal was a submission from the prosecutor's office of the Akmola region dated 24 August 2024.
As reported by Vice-Minister of Agriculture Yerbol Taszhupekov, the lawsuit concerns a sale and purchase agreement dated 29/11/2004, concluded between the akim of Shchuchinsk district and Bolat Boranbayevich Marzhikpayev, as well as an agreement dated 01/10/2008, under which the plot was transferred from Bolat Marzhikpayev to Maira Kadirzhanovna Nurturina.
According to the ministry, these plots are located within a specially protected natural area, which by law is not subject to privatisation or transfer without a special government decision and a positive conclusion from the state environmental expert review.
"In this case, the aforementioned government decision and positive conclusion from the environmental expert review are absent. According to paragraph 1 of Article 158 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, a transaction whose content does not comply with the requirements of the legislation is recognised as invalid, and a transaction made for a purpose knowingly contrary to the foundations of law and order is contestable and may be declared invalid by a court, unless otherwise provided by the Code and other legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan," the deputy minister noted.
According to available information, Bolat Boranbayevich Marzhikpayev is supposedly the brother of Yermek Boranbayevich Marzhikpayev, who served as akim of the Akmola region from 2019–2023, and later as Minister of Tourism and Sport. He currently works as an advisor to the Prime Minister.
Back in March 2023, the editorial board of FBRK exposed the business empire of Yermek Marzhikpayev's family thanks to a casual slip of the tongue he made in an interview on the YouTube channel "Obzhayu". While serving as akim of the Akmola region, he inadvertently mentioned his wife's surname — Gulsara Kurmanova. An investigation revealed an extensive network of family businesses: hotels in Borovoye, numerous companies, and the active involvement of brothers and nephews in commercial activities.