As of January 15, 2019, the Swiss Federal Criminal Court granted the petition of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Kazakhstan and decided to return the illegally obtained 140 million tenge. These funds were withdrawn outside the country by members of an organized criminal group in the so-called Khorgos case.
The press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office reported that the funds belonged to one of the active members of the group Magzum Abdraliyev. He has been on the international wanted list since 2012 on suspicion of participation in this case. On April 25 of the current year, the money came from Switzerland to the account of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan and in the near future will be converted into state income.
The ministry reminded that in April 2018, at the request of the prosecution authorities in this case, 762 thousand US dollars and 915 thousand tenge of criminal proceeds of Abdraliyev were confiscated in favour of the state.
The total amount of funds credited to the state budget in this case as part of the work on the return of stolen assets is about 420 million tenge. Within the framework of the Khorgos case, customs and state security officials were accused of smuggling through the Khorgos, Kalzhat and Dostyk customs posts. 45 people were convicted in the case. In addition, 19 people were put on the wanted list. The criminal case contained more than 1,500 volumes. The process involved more than 600 witnesses, 48 lawyers and 38 defenders, which made the process the largest in Kazakhstan.
Reported by the Kazakhstanskaya Pravda.
