5 November at the Almaly District Court of Almaty the case of Sanzhar Bokayev, his nephew Madiyar Kalmenov and videographer Ulan Nusipkozha continued. The court questioned representatives of companies, discussed the circumstances of the creation of an image film and the absence of certain witnesses. For the fifth time the defence demanded that judge Zhanat Abenova be recused, but was again refused.
WHO WAS QUESTIONED
As journalist Vadim Boreiko reported on Instagram, on the morning of 5 November Sergei Babel, general director of SALEM Hotel Management LLP, which provided catering for guests, and a representative of the Ramada hotel testified. The court established who paid and for which services.
Then prosecutor Zhanyl Zhumabayeva stated that experts could not be questioned before the expert conclusions were announced. Therefore, the questioning of several specialists summoned by the defence was postponed.
WHY THE DEFENCE DEMANDED THE JUDGE'S RECUSAL FOR THE FIFTH TIME
According to Vlast.kz, lawyer Alma Musina filed the recusal after the questioning of witness Ramazanov. According to her, the witness stated that he had no connection to the episode with the motor rally, yet the court allowed the questioning to continue.
Prosecutor Zhumabayeva objected: Ramazanov had been included in the list of prosecution witnesses, and his testimony was necessary to establish whether the image film had been created and what the money transfers were for. She also accused the lawyers of systematically filing recusals and attempting to exert media pressure on the court.
The court refused the recusal. The day before, 4 November, lawyer Artem Askarov had also requested Abenova's recusal, citing a prosecutorial bias during the questioning of witness Zhuldyz Artykbayeva. The court refused then as well.
WHAT THE ENTREPRENEURS SAID ABOUT THE MOTOR RALLY
At the 4 November hearing, entrepreneurs and representatives of companies that had worked with the organisers of the international “Europe — China” motor rally testified. Former director of CM Service K. Yurchenko confirmed that the catering for participants before departure to “Khorgos” was paid for by We Can LLP. Accountant of Chimbulak Development L. Dzhilkisheva stated that the same company had purchased cable car tickets.
Daniil Likhachev testified about the rental of a stage, lighting and sound equipment at the “Rakhat Palace” hotel, specifying that his enterprise had not filmed any videos. Dulat Tokanov confirmed payment for event organisation services at the “Kazakhstan” hotel, and director of “NPO Zdorovye” LLP Maksim Leskov — a transaction of 69,450 tenge for banner structures. Damira Sarsenbayeva and Alipa Akimova also testified about payments by We Can.
WHAT OTHER COMPANY CONNECTIONS WERE DISCUSSED IN COURT
Witness Aizhan Konyrtayeva stated that in 2019–2020 Zhuldyz Artykbayeva had ordered advertising materials from her for the furniture firm “Art Romance”. The head of the accounting company “Damu” Altai Mautkanov testified about a service agreement with BM Trust LLP concluded in September 2018. According to the case materials, the company was registered to Bokayev's nephew.
Also testifying in court were Aibek Aldabergenov and Galymzhan Nurmakhanov, connected with advertising services, Arman Melis, who bought furniture from “Art Romance”, and Renat Ismailov, president of Technodom, who reported the purchase of equipment by BM Trust.
A separate dispute concerns the image film. Earlier, witness Zharmukhamed Sultanov, who had been involved in commissioning the film, denied Bokayev's claims of pressure during questioning at the Agency for Financial Monitoring (AFM). Sultanov also rejected the suggestion that a debt of 24 million tenge could have influenced his testimony. According to the defence, another witness stated that the film had not been made and that part of the money for it had been returned to Bokayev in cash.
During the hearing the judge also warned Ulan Nusipkozha, who is under house arrest, that a repeat lateness could become grounds for reviewing the measure of restraint. A fourth lawyer, Dmitry Kuryachenko, joined Bokayev's defence.
