Ryskaliyev's OCG Trial. Hearing of Witnesses

By Saule Tasboulatova

Yesterday, Jan 30, the specialized inter-district court on criminal cases of Atyrau Oblast started hearing of witnesses involved in ex-governor Bergey Ryskaliyev's criminal case.

At the hearings the facts were voiced about illegal acquisition of 9 apartments in a high-riser located on Satpayev Street 35, constructed by AB Group LLP.

According to financial police, Amanzhan Ryskaliyev fraudulently misappropriated 9 apartments in that residential block. According to informal information, ex-first deputy governor Bolat Daukenov and ex-city mayor Askar Kerimov also had apartments in this block.

Aliya Tulenova, former chief accountant of AB Group LLP, invited to the court as a witness, testified that in 2008 and 2009 the ownership of nine apartments in that block were registered to other persons and at the prices lower that the market price, yet they never received the money for those flats.

– My director (director of AB Group LLP - Kamalov– S.T) gave me orders to sign certain contracts and issue cash receipts. I issued bogus cash receipts for the amounts specified in those contract, but actually we never received this money. We put our stamps on all the documents, but we didn’t issue receipts for tax purposes and the prices of apartment in the contracts were lower than market ones.

Koumisai Tokmourziyeva, Bergey Ryskaliyev’s schoolmate, also gave her testimony related this episode.

According to her, at the beginning of 2008 her acquaintance Erkin Moldashov visited her and asked her to sign a batch of documents concerning those 9 apartments. He said that later he will re-register them on his own name.

– Then, at the beginning of June, 2008, he visited again and said that he wants to re-register the apartment on his name, and asked me to go to the notary in Victory park. I thought I was merely helping him as a friend. Then Erkin said that we need to go to the bank where he wants to take a loan in order to purchase the apartment and again asked me to sign the papers. I signed. I never saw the apartment and never saw any money. But in June, 2012 the tax office sent me a notification that I purchased the apartment for 9 million tenge and sold it for 21 million. They demanded that I should pay the tax office 1 million tenge in taxes.

According to Tokmourziyeva, she knew Ryskaliyev' family very well because they were neighbours in Makat.

Altogether 400 witnesses are scheduled to be examined during the trial. The chairman of specialized inter-district court Gulmira Dauletova prior to hearings stated the order in which the evidences will be examined:

– The court established to start with “Apartments” part about illegal acquisition of nine apartments and construction of rental housing. Then the court will examine “Privatization of facilities” part, the third part will be “Bridges”, the fourth – “Snaboylstroy”, then the issue of the state fund “Business Komek”(Business Help),”Gasification”,”Reconstruction of Highways”, “Aziyamarket S LLP” that involves engineering infrastructure, construction of water treatment facilities. The ninth part will be “Water supply”,then “Electrification”, ”False Business”and the last part “Park” where it is planned to uncover the  activity of all companies through which contracts were signed.

The court session will proceed on Monday, February 3.