An employee of a farm in the village of Sarymoldayeva in the Merke district of the Zhambyl region contacted the FBRK editorial office.
A representative of Farm “Zhas” told us that the company has been subjected to threats for a long time from a former partner, from whom “Zhas” had previously leased agricultural equipment.
According to him, at the end of February 2023, Farm “Zhas” and LLP “BNK Leasing”, part of the “BNK Group LTD” group of companies, entered into leasing agreements.
Under the two contracts, the lessor, i.e., LLP “BNK Leasing”, undertook to supply two centre-pivot irrigation systems and install the necessary infrastructure.
The total value of the contracts was approximately 187 million tenge.
As the farm representative claims, in March “Zhas” paid an initial deposit of 30%. However, the company never received either the machinery or the infrastructure.
As reported by Farm “Zhas”, “BNK Leasing” requested additional time, first until May, then until June. The irrigation systems were finally delivered in June, but the promised water supply was not installed.
By August it became clear that on one plot where the unit was installed, the sugar beet crop was “ruined” due to a lack of irrigation water, while on another it was partially damaged. Furthermore, one of the units broke down completely.
At that point, “Zhas” suspended its leasing payments in accordance with the contract.
To compensate for the losses amounting to 77.6 million tenge, which Farm “Zhas” incurred due to the untimely installed and malfunctioning irrigation systems, LLP “BNK Leasing” proposed a deal: “BNK Leasing” would lease the damaged sugar beet fields with the option to sell any harvest that could still be collected.
To this end, in August 2023 the parties signed a gratuitous lease agreement for a land plot of 120 hectares.
Additionally, the partners agreed on a new payment schedule for the leasing fees, and “BNK Leasing” promised to install the water supply system by the start of the sowing season.
As reported by Farm “Zhas”, “BNK Leasing” managed to sell the remaining harvest. However, instead of the promised 77.6 million tenge, the company compensated only about 10 million tenge.
Then, in January 2024, another attempt was made to reach an agreement. The parties entered into a joint cooperation agreement.
Under this agreement, LLP “BNK Leasing” agreed to pay off its debt by transferring to Farm “Zhas” a sum exceeding 20 million tenge, raised from the sale of the sugar beet.
In return, Farm “Zhas” agreed to share with “BNK Leasing” the subsidies that the state had originally allocated for carrying out the infrastructure work, amounting to 48 million tenge, and also to resume the leasing payments.
But this attempt to negotiate also ended in failure.
At the beginning of this year, Farm “Zhas” sent LLP “BNK Leasing” a pre-trial claim, proposing that the debts under the previous contracts be paid voluntarily.
According to the farm representative, the response from LLP “BNK Leasing” involved threats. The farm’s managers were given hints that “serious people” supposedly stood behind “BNK Leasing”, and on this basis, the advisability of filing a lawsuit was questioned.
It is perhaps worth noting that the development of business relations in the commercial sphere can often be unpredictable and lead to the most unexpected results. Therefore, it is always sensible for entrepreneurs to secure the services of an experienced lawyer in advance (it does not necessarily need to be a permanent employee, but at least a contract should be signed) in order to minimise potential losses and the unpleasant consequences of unsuccessful deals.