Ex-Governor of Ryder sentenced to 8 years in prison for embezzling 2 billion tenge
In a significant development, the East Kazakhstan Regional Court has handed down an eight-year prison sentence to former Ust-Kamenogorsk Mayor Nurbek Batyrbayev for his involvement in a corruption scheme. The verdict, however, has not yet taken effect, allowing Batyrbayev and his accomplices to appeal the decision.
The conviction stems from a scheme involving street lighting modernization projects in Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semey, where Batyrbayev, along with a former colleague, are accused of embezzling funds. From April to July 2023, the parties fabricated false documents, embezzling an additional 122 million tenge. An additional agreement was signed with the contractor, resulting in an excess of over 206 million tenge being transferred to the company's account beyond the actual cost of the work.
Batyrbayev's cooperation with the investigation and assistance in returning part of the funds served as a mitigating factor in the sentencing. However, none of the defendants admitted their guilt. The court did not find any aggravating circumstances in the case, and the prosecution insisted on severe punishment for all participants.
The court's press service released a statement regarding the sentencing, but the specific details of the appeal process were not provided. The report did not specify the names of the other participants involved in the corruption schemes or the specific modernization projects and the contractor involved in the overpricing episode.
This case is not the first instance of high-level corruption in Kazakhstan. In June 2025, former Justice Minister Marat Beketayev was sentenced to nine years in prison with asset confiscation for charges including fraud, embezzlement on a large scale, and illegal entrepreneurial activities. The case reflects ongoing efforts to prosecute former powerful officials linked to systemic corruption before the political upheaval of January 2022.
The ongoing scrutiny and push for systemic reform in public procurement processes are also evident, with audits in 2023 and 2024 uncovering widespread violations causing financial losses amounting to billions of tenge. Over 130 cases were referred for administrative or criminal prosecution.
Despite these efforts, internal controversies remain, with reports of abuses within anti-corruption bodies themselves, suggesting challenges in fully eradicating corruption. The latest developments in Kazakhstan's anti-corruption landscape continue to signal intensified efforts to combat embezzlement of state funds by public officials, but no confirmed recent developments specifically involving Nurbek Batyrbayev have been made public.
- The corruption case against Nurbek Batyrbayev encompasses his involvement in a scheme that extended to general-news topics like street lighting modernization projects in Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semey.
- The embezzlement charges against Batyrbayev and his accomplices in Kazakhstan's politics not only involve crime-and-justice issues but also relate to the broader context of systemic corruption within the public procurement processes.
