A criminal case against Yerlan Koishibayev, linked to alleged losses within the structures of JSC "NC "Kazakhstan Temir Zholy" (KTZ), was dismissed twice — in 2019 and 2023. The investigation did not establish the elements of a criminal offence and classified the relations as civil law disputes.
WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE INVESTIGATION
The criminal case was registered on 26 January 2019 by the Anti-Corruption Service regarding possible abuse of official powers within the structures of KTZ and its subsidiary companies, reports the publication Shyndyk.kz.
The basis was a statement from the director of a private company. According to the applicant, between 2016 and 2018, a KTZ subsidiary — KTZ Express provided transport and forwarding services at reduced rates to several organisations, despite their significant accounts receivable. The article mentions the companies Interlog multimodal, KIK Logistics, "Gruzovoy operator", "Rauan-Trans Astana", UVI Logistics, SEN Oil and Perfect Logistics.
WHICH EPISODES WERE EXAMINED BY THE INVESTIGATION
The documents describe a scheme for leasing open-top wagons: in 2017, around 4,000 wagons were transferred at a rate of 6,500 tenge per day, after which they were subleased at 9,000 tenge. This difference, as stated in the materials, generated income for the intermediaries.
The investigation also examined the transfer of 3,772 grain hoppers at a price of around 3,484 tenge per wagon, compared to a market value of up to 12,000 tenge. It is noted that this led to lost profits on each wagon.
Separate mention is made of transactions involving the sale of freight wagons. According to the documents, the market value of a single wagon could exceed 10 million tenge, whereas in several cases valuations as low as $1,000–2,000 were applied.
Furthermore, episodes relating to the debt of the company Transgroup Systems L.P. were examined. The documents note that some of the calculations and supporting materials were missing.
WHY THE CASE WAS DISMISSED
Despite the volume of materials, in July 2019 the investigation was terminated due to the absence of the elements of a criminal offence. Some episodes were separated into a distinct proceeding.
According to the case materials, in 2022 the investigation was resumed: employees and company representatives were questioned, and certain individuals had their travel abroad restricted.
However, on 23 February 2023, the Deputy Chief Transport Prosecutor again decided to dismiss the case. The ruling states that the relations between the parties were of a civil law nature, and that there was no evidence of damage or the elements of a crime. It was also noted that no claims were registered by KTZ.
CONTEXT
The materials do not clarify whether an independent assessment of the potential damage was carried out, nor what criteria formed the basis for the conclusion regarding the civil law nature of the relations.