Former Kazakh antimonopoly chief fined $6 million in bribery case
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 13 February 2015 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Former Kazakh antimonopoly chief fined $6 million in bribery case, 13 February 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/55094094e.html [accessed 28 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
February 13, 2015
By RFE/RL's Kazakh Service
Murat Ospanov during his trial on February 13, when the court ordered him to pay a $6 million fine.
A jailed former head of Kazakhstan's state agency on the regulation of monopolies has been ordered to pay a fine of about $6 million after his conviction in a bribery trial.
But Murat Ospanov managed to avoid jail time when the Astana court handed down his penalty on February 13.
Prosecutors had been seeking an 11-year jail sentence.
He was arrested in July on suspicion of accepting a bribe worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Ospanov has consistently denied the accusation.
Several former Kazakh officials have faced prosecution on suspicion of graft in recent years.
In October, former Deputy Agriculture Minister Muslim Omiraev was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted of accepting a $100,000 bribe.
Also in October, the head of Kazakhstan's Border Guard Service, Nurlan Zholamanov, was arrested on corruption charges that he denies.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
