A criminal embezzlement case involving Shymkent Socio-Entrepreneurial Corporation (SPK) JSC has stalled at the pre-trial investigation stage. The case was opened in 2020 against the company's management for the purchase of buses at an inflated price, but in 2022, the investigator suspended the investigation deadline, citing "failure to identify the person who committed the crime".
The FBRC editorial team sent a request to the police demanding an explanation of how, after two and a half years, they had failed to identify those responsible, given that the case was initially opened against specific managers.
On 4 April 2020, the Shymkent City Anti-Corruption Department (now the National Security Committee's Anti-Corruption Service) began a pre-trial investigation under Part 2 of Article 189 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The case was registered in the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations (URPTI). The management of Shymkent SPK JSC was suspected of purchasing buses at an inflated price, which was classified as embezzlement of entrusted property on an especially large scale.
A month and a half later, on 23 May 2020, the case materials were transferred under investigative jurisdiction to the Shymkent City Department of Economic Investigations (DEI). The investigation remained with this body for two years, after which, on 22 June 2022, it was sent to the Enbekshinsky District Police Department. Another month and a half later, on 1 August 2022, the materials were transferred to the Karatau District Police Department.
According to the latest response from the DEI, it was there that investigator A. Irssimbetov suspended the deadline for the pre-trial investigation. The grounds for this were Part 7-1 of Article 45 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan — "failure to identify the person who committed the criminal offence."
This wording contradicts the initial case data. In April 2020, the investigation began regarding the management of a specific company over a specific incident concerning the purchase of buses. How, after two and a half years of working with the materials, could they have failed to identify those responsible? This question remains unanswered.
According to the Criminal Procedure Code, suspending the investigation deadline does not mean the case is permanently closed. Part 7-1 of Article 45 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan explicitly states that suspending the deadline does not preclude conducting search operations and covert investigative actions. The decision to suspend must be approved by the prosecutor within three days. However, it is unknown whether such approval was obtained or whether any search operations are currently being conducted.
Over five years of existence, the case has changed investigative jurisdiction four times. The materials have been with the anti-corruption service, the Department of Economic Investigations, and two district police departments. Each transfer was formalised with procedural documents, but it did not bring the investigation any closer to a result.
In September 2025, the FBRC editorial team had already attempted to obtain information regarding this case. The DEI refused to provide the information, citing the impossibility of studying archival materials and requirements for the non-disclosure of investigative data. Meanwhile, the request concerned not the secret materials of the investigation, but general information about the procedural status of the case.
Now, our editorial team has sent a request directly to the Karatau District Police Department asking for a copy of the decision to suspend the investigation deadline with the prosecutor's approval, an explanation of the legal basis for applying the provision on "failure to identify the person," and information about the investigative actions carried out after August 2022. A separate question concerns whether any search operations are currently underway to identify those responsible.
To be continued…