On 6 October 2026, a court in East Kazakhstan sentenced two former officials from the ‘Government for Citizens’ agency to four years in prison for their involvement in illegal gold mining activities. The convicted individuals, Rahimzhanov and Nurtazin, were found guilty of orchestrating unlawful gold extraction in the Ulan district, where they exploited a site known as Shybindy. Despite holding a licence solely for the exploration of solid minerals, they engaged in the actual mining of gold, leading to significant financial and environmental repercussions.
The investigation revealed that the duo had illegally extracted over 15 kilograms of gold, valued at more than 844 million tenge. During the course of the investigation, law enforcement authorities confiscated 6.7 kilograms of gold and 579 grams of silver, with a combined worth of 382 million tenge. The illegal operations not only resulted in substantial financial gain for the offenders but also inflicted severe damage to the local environment, affecting over 18 hectares of land and destroying numerous trees and shrubs within the state forest fund.
The court ruling included the confiscation of assets worth 372 million tenge, which comprised heavy machinery such as excavators, loaders, and trucks used in the illegal mining operations. Additionally, the convicted individuals were ordered to forfeit 10 million tenge and 56,000 US dollars in cash. The ruling has not yet become legally binding, and the case underscores the ongoing challenges of illegal mining activities in Kazakhstan, highlighting the need for stricter enforcement of mining regulations and environmental protections.
