Former head of the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs (NCE) "Atameken" Ablay Myrzakhmetov has been released from prison. He will serve the unexpired portion of his court-imposed sentence under probation supervision at his place of residence.
WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE RELEASE
According to Tengrinews.kz citing the Department of the Penitentiary System (DPS) of Pavlodar Region, the court made the decision to release Ablay Myrzakhmetov back in February 2026. The department reported that the convicted individual had four commendations and a second positive behaviour rating. It was also noted that during his sentence, he opened a sewing workshop in the colony.
Following his release, the unexpired portion of the sentence will be enforced in the form of probation supervision at his place of residence.
CONTEXT
On 10 May 2023, the Anti-Corruption Service (Anticor) reported the arrest of Ablay Myrzakhmetov. According to the investigation, he was suspected of fraud and inciting a businessman to give a particularly large bribe, allegedly in exchange for assistance in getting the businessman's relative off criminal charges.
In December 2023, the criminal case was sent to court. During the trial, the prosecution stated that the matter involved the transfer of $30 million. Ablay Myrzakhmetov himself was charged with fraud.
In May 2024, the court found Ablay Myrzakhmetov guilty of fraud on an especially large scale. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison with confiscation of property worth 5.8 billion tenge.
In September 2024, Anticor reported that during the pre-trial investigation, funds amounting to 7 billion tenge had been returned to state revenue.
In 2025, Ablay Myrzakhmetov applied to the court for parole. In January, the court refused to commute the sentence, and in May it became known that he had filed a similar petition again.
Earlier, the court mitigated the sentence imposed on Ablay Myrzakhmetov, replacing it with a milder form of punishment.
