Journalist and public figure Kirill Pavlov conducted a large-scale investigation into the illegal extraction of minerals along the Ishim River, identifying several problematic areas where the river's ecosystem is being destroyed. Based on this data, the FBRK editorial team decided to find out who owns the territories and who is behind the illegal business.
The first area to come under the journalists' scrutiny was a site where a company linked to a former deputy of the Astana maslikhat, Gabit Satmagambetov, is extracting sand just 30 metres from the bank, which is a direct violation of Kazakhstan's water protection legislation.
VIOLATION OF THE WATER PROTECTION REGIME
According to the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the extraction of common minerals near water bodies is strictly regulated by the Water Code and environmental protection legislation.
For small rivers with a length of up to 200 kilometres, a water protection zone with a width of 500 metres from the shoreline is stipulated, and in complex environmental conditions, this zone can reach 1000 metres. Within this territory, any activity that could lead to pollution or changes in the hydrological regime of water bodies is prohibited.
A specially protected area is the water protection strip — a territory with a width of no less than 35 metres from the bank, where any work that disturbs the soil and vegetation cover, including mineral extraction, is completely prohibited.
However, as journalist Kirill Pavlov recently discovered, these norms are regularly violated on the Ishim River. In his investigation he identified several locations where illegal mineral extraction is taking place, threatening the ecological safety of the water body.
WHO IS DEVELOPING THE QUARRY?
According to satellite imagery data, the area of one of the extraction sites is approximately 12.2 hectares. Of particular concern is the fact that work is being carried out just 30 metres from the shoreline, which clearly violates the requirements for the 35-metre water protection strip.
The FBRK editorial team decided to find out who owns these territories and who is profiting from this potentially illegal activity.
It turned out that a land plot of 11.05 hectares with the designated purpose "for the extraction of gravelly sands" has been under long-term lease by Quarry-Mir 3 LLP since July 2023. The lease term is set until April 2042 — for more than 18 years.
CONNECTIONS AND FOUNDERS
Quarry-Mir 3 LLP has been on the market for almost 9 years and specialises in the extraction of common minerals. According to open sources, the company has a clean reputation and a low degree of risk regarding tax obligations, having paid over 1.2 million tenge in taxes since 2016.
In 2024, Quarry-Mir 3 even entered the Register of Reliable and Socially Significant Enterprises of the Akmola Region, taking 69th place among companies with a similar profile of activity.
Since February 2024, the head of Quarry-Mir 3 LLP has been Aruzhan Bakydzhan. Her predecessor, Amangeldy Kakibayev, heads companies such as SG Beton Zavod LLP, Stone Quarry LLP and SG Peschanyy Kar'yyer LLP.
The sole founder of Quarry-Mir 3 LLP is Capital Trust LLP. Interestingly, initially Yesil Social-Entrepreneurial Corporation (SEC) JSC was also a co-founder, but the state company withdrew from the founders in September 2016.
LINK TO THE FORMER DEPUTY
Capital Trust LLP also specialises in the development of gravel and sand quarries and has been on the market for more than 16 years. The company has a medium degree of risk regarding tax obligations, and the total amount of taxes it has paid barely exceeds 105 thousand tenge.
According to Kompra.kz, the head of Capital Trust since February 2024 is also Aruzhan Bakydzhan. Among the company's founders are Gabit Satmagambetov, a former deputy of the Astana city maslikhat, and his company SG Beton Zavod LLP, which is engaged in the production of precast reinforced concrete and concrete structures.
Satmagambetov is known as the founder and general director of the group of construction companies "G-Park", established in 2014. In 2021, he was elected as a deputy of the Astana city maslikhat of the 7th convocation and held the post of deputy chairman of the commission on construction, ecology, transport, trade and housing and communal services.
REPUTATIONAL RISKS
Satmagambetov's reputation and that of his associated companies is mixed. In 2022, he found himself at the centre of a scandal after a verbal altercation with mothers of large families at the entrance to the Astana akimat, which caused widespread public outcry.
In the same year, the construction company G-Park filed a police report against the executive director of the public association "Adildik Zholy", Didar Smagulov, accusing him of spreading false information that defamed the company's honour.
The reason was Smagulov's statements that G-Park was one of the "favourite" companies of the former akim of Astana, Altai Kulginov. Notably, by that point, 17 investors of G-Park had already approached the office of Adildik Zholy with complaints about the impossibility of getting their invested funds back.
Law enforcement authorities refused to initiate a case against Smagulov, citing the absence of a crime. Later, defrauded investors of G-Park appealed to the Prosecutor General's Office, claiming that the promised residential complexes were not put into operation or were left unfinished, despite the funds they had invested.
In April 2024, a criminal case was opened in Astana following a statement from investors of Nur-Sultan Finance LLP, whose founder is Satmagambetov. There were also reports of demands from creditors to restrict his travel abroad in connection with the non-repayment of investments.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The situation with sand extraction in the water protection zone of the Ishim River requires close attention from supervisory authorities. Violation of environmental protection legislation could lead to serious ecological consequences for this important water artery of the region.
It is worth noting that our editorial team has previously conducted an investigation into the pollution of the Astana Reservoir, identifying companies and individuals involved in causing environmental damage to the water resources of the capital region. The current investigation continues a series of articles on the protection of water bodies in Kazakhstan.
The FBRK editorial team appeals to the chairman of the committee for land resource management, Murat Temirzhanov, urging him to pay attention to the identified facts and to initiate an inspection into the legality of issuing land plots in the water protection zone, as well as the legality of the activities being carried out there.
It is puzzling that the department shows enviable activity in matters of land seizure from farmers, yet demonstrates surprising passivity when it comes to flagrant environmental violations occurring in the immediate vicinity of protected water bodies.
In the next part of the investigation, we will examine other locations of illegal mineral extraction identified by Kirill Pavlov and analyse which other companies and individuals may be implicated in causing damage to the ecosystem of the Ishim River.
To be continued...