The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation has reported that information about the transfer of the water intake channel Kazvodkhoz into private ownership is false.
Earlier, the press service of the Turkestan Region Prosecutor's Office had published information that Kazvodkhoz had transferred the water intake channel named '20 Years of Independence' to the limited liability partnership SK Parasat free of charge, but it was returned to state ownership.
According to the ministry, the machine channel was not transferred into the ownership of limited liability partnership SK Parasat, and the information about its return to state ownership is inaccurate.
'This concerns a contract with the limited liability partnership SK Parasat dated 26/06/2023, which relates to the cleaning of silt and sand deposits from part of the channel bed and the adjacent area of the main pumping station-1. Given that, contrary to the terms of the concluded contract, SK Parasat began the unauthorised extraction and subsequent sale of sand from the areas adjacent to the channel, the Republican State Enterprise Kazvodkhoz initiated the termination procedure for this contract in October 2023', the statement reads.
It has become known that lawsuits for the termination of the channel bed cleaning contract were filed with the judicial authorities on behalf of the Republican State Enterprise Kazvodkhoz.
'A lawsuit was filed in October 2023 with the Specialised Inter-District Economic Court of the Turkestan Region, and during the same period, statements were sent to local law enforcement agencies. As a result of the statements, a criminal case was initiated against SK Parasat under Part 2 of Article 334 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (unauthorised use of subsoil, unauthorised extraction of minerals). The case is currently at the pre-trial investigation stage', the ministry stated.
At the request of the Republican State Enterprise Kazvodkhoz, the environmental prosecutor's office of the Turkestan Region inspected the activities of SK Parasat. Based on the inspection results, the company was ordered to rectify the identified violations.
Subsequently, the authorised body of the Republican State Enterprise Kazvodkhoz, represented by the Water Resources Committee, filed a lawsuit with the Specialised Inter-District Economic Court of Astana in April 2024.
'During the court proceedings, at the request of the participants, the prosecutor of the Specialised Environmental Prosecutor's Office of the Turkestan Region was brought in as a third party. The court of first instance dismissed the claim, but following appeals from the Water Resources Committee, the Republican State Enterprise Kazvodkhoz, the Astana City Prosecutor's Office, and the Specialised Environmental Prosecutor's Office of the Turkestan Region, the appellate judicial board of Astana overturned the decision of the court of first instance on 25/07/2024, and the claim was satisfied (the transaction was declared invalid)', the statement reads.
It is also noted that the Republican State Enterprise Kazvodkhoz filed a statement in February 2024 with the Prosecutor General's Office, the Anti-Corruption Service, and the Financial Monitoring Agency for appropriate measures to be taken regarding the unlawful actions of former officials of the Republican State Enterprise Kazvodkhoz and the illegal business activities of SK Parasat.