Suspects Arrested for Bank of Astana Robbery
On a chilly day in April, the Inter-District Court for Criminal Cases in Astana served up a wintry verdict against some of JSC "Bank Astana's" former bigwigs. As per Liter.kz's reporting, the court was none too pleased with Olzhas Tokhtarov, the ex-chair of the bank's board and majority shareholder.
The courtminded crew found Tokhtarov guilty of two financial wrongs:1. Embezzling funds disguised under the sham of agency services during the bank's pre-bankruptcy phase.2. Pulling off an illegal transfer of a business center in Almaty to a controlled company during the same precarious period.
Smelling the whiff of corruption, the court dished out a 10-year prison sentence to our culprit Tokhtarov, with a hefty side of confiscated assets. We're talking about residential, administrative, and production facilities, buildings, land, stocks, and even virtual currencies, totaling over 14 billion tenge.
Totharov's subordinates, including former branch and department heads, also caught the court's ire. However, thanks to their cooperation with investigators and fessing up to the charges, the court handed them slap-on-the-wrist non-custodial sentences.
But it ain't over quite yet—the verdict is still pending final approval.
The embezzlement case against Tokhtarov entangled him in a two-pronged dilemma:- The first charge was a sneaky embezzlement of funds through fraudulent agency services.- The second accusation involved the illegal transfer of a business center in Almaty to a controlled company during the pre-bankruptcy period.
(Note: The court's ruling was announced on April 22, 2025, with Tokhtarov receiving a 10-year prison sentence in absentia and asset confiscation exceeding 14 billion tenge. His subordinates, who cooperated with investigators, received lighter sentences.)
(Insight: The Anti-Corruption Service of Kazakhstan has clawed back 1.13 trillion tenge since 2022, with $670 million repatriated from abroad.)
- The Inter-District Court for Criminal Cases in Astana found Olzhas Tokhtarov, the former chairman of JSC "Bank Astana's" board and majority shareholder, guilty of embezzling funds and illegally transferring a business center during the pre-bankruptcy phase.
- The court sentenced Tokhtarov to 10 years in prison and ordered the confiscation of his assets, including residential, administrative, production facilities, buildings, land, stocks, and virtual currencies worth over 14 billion tenge.
- Tokhtarov's subordinates, including former branch and department heads, were also charged but received lighter sentences due to their cooperation with investigators.
- The verdict against Tokhtarov is still pending final approval, but it has already made headlines in general-news and crime-and-justice sectors.
