The editorial board of FBRK decided to scrutinise the laureates of the project “100 New Faces of Kazakhstan” due to the fact that some of them subsequently distinguished themselves with negative achievements and are now in prison.
Specifically, this concerns former Mazhilis deputy Nurzhan Altayev, convicted of bribery, who was a participant in the “100 New Faces of Kazakhstan” project in 2017.
The “100 New Faces of Kazakhstan” project featured the stories of specific individuals from different regions, ages and nationalities who had achieved success during the years of Kazakhstan’s independence. The initiator of the project in 2017 was Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Notably, the lists of the “100 New Faces of Kazakhstan” project for 2017-2018 are currently unavailable to the public. We assume that the project participants were originally close associates of the ex-president or individuals who subsequently tarnished their reputations.
This could not but cause public outcry, and as a result, we believe, the lists of project participants are now inaccessible. It is worth noting that the number of laureates varied each year. It is known that in 2017, 102 winners of the project were selected, in 2018 – only 29, and in 2019 – 33 people.
From 2019 onwards, the annual winners of the “100 New Faces of Kazakhstan” project truly became deserving figures of the country: doctors, teachers, multiple-time champions, artists and scientists. Some of them now hold high-ranking positions.
For example, laureate of the “100 New Faces of Kazakhstan-2019” project Azat Sembinov works as an advisor to the chairman of the democratic party of Kazakhstan “Ak Zhol”. Previously, he was a deputy, a member of the Committee on Ecology and Environmental Management of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Another laureate of the “100 New Faces of Kazakhstan-2019” project, Dinara Shukizhanova, worked for many years in various positions at JSC “Agromashholding KZ” and subsequently headed the enterprise. Later, Shukizhanova became a Mazhilis deputy. At the beginning of 2024, she resigned her parliamentary powers.
The winner of the “100 New Faces of Kazakhstan-2019” project, a multiple prize-winner of republican and international competitions in the IT field, Maxim Ryumin, also tied his activities to JSC “Agromashholding KZ”.
Another winner of the national project, Assel Ayapova, works as the director of the American energy corporation “The AES Corporation”, leading a programme for the introduction of robotics (drones). Ayapova is also an independent director and a member of the Board of Directors of JSC “Moinak HPP named after U. D. Kantayev”.
Assel Zhanasova, who became a winner of the “100 New Faces of Kazakhstan-2019” project, held the position of Vice-Minister of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan from 2020 to 2022. Currently, she is the chairperson of the board of JSC “Kazpost”.
Recall that in November 2023, Nurzhan Altayev was sentenced to 10 years in prison for bribery. It was reported that between 2018 and 2019, while serving as Vice-Minister of Labour and Social Protection, Altayev received monthly bribes from the chairman of the board of the NCE “Atameken”, Abylay Myrzakhmetov.
After taking up the post of deputy of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, between 2019 and 2020 Altayev continued to receive money from Myrzakhmetov. According to the Anti-Corruption Agency, the total amount of bribes was at least $135,000, which is considered especially large-scale.