Entrepreneur Dinmukhamed Zhunusov stated that the state company “Zhasyl Damu” did not complete the deal to sell a tonne of saiga horns, even though his company won the auction for 1.271 billion tenge. According to the businessman, he signed the final protocol, but the seller did not. Now Kiik Prom LLP has not received the goods, and the fate of the guarantee deposit of 184 million tenge remains unclear.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE AUCTION
The auction took place on 14 September 2026 on the electronic trading portal e-Qazyna. Zhasyl Damu JSC put up for sale a tonne of saiga horns with a starting price of 1,227,148,000 tenge.
Two organisations took part in the auction. Kiik Prom LLP offered 1,271,105,000 tenge, while the second participant’s bid was 1,232,712,000 tenge. Thus, the final price exceeded the starting price by almost 44 million tenge.
To take part in the auction, the company paid a guarantee deposit of 184,072,200 tenge. However, the deal was not completed: the portal displayed the status “Completed (protocol signing deadline expired)”.
WHY THE ENTREPRENEUR IS CHALLENGING THE SITUATION
According to Dinmukhamed Zhunusov, he signed the protocol on the day of the auction, but “Zhasyl Damu” did not. As a result, the signing deadline expired and the sale and purchase agreement was not concluded, Tengrinews.kz reports.
Zhunusov claims that he fulfilled the terms of the auction and did not refuse to buy. According to him, appeals to “Zhasyl Damu” and the Ministry of Ecology did not clarify the situation. The entrepreneur turned to the Prosecutor General’s Office and stated that he was ready to defend his position in court.
WHAT THE STATE COMPANY RESPONDED
Zhasyl Damu JSC confirmed that the auction took place. At the same time, the company did not explain why it did not sign the final protocol within the established deadline.
Separately, “Zhasyl Damu” explained that Kiik Prom LLP’s guarantee deposit is held in an electronic wallet opened by the auction organiser — Information and Accounting Centre JSC. According to the company, these funds did not reach its own accounts.
At the same time, the response does not specify whether the entrepreneur can get the money back and under what conditions this would be possible.
WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT “KIIK PROM”
Kiik Prom LLP was registered in July 2025 in Zhezkazgan. Its main activity is hunting and trapping animals, including related services.
Zhunusov created the company to process saiga meat and horns. He planned to build plants in the Ulytau region and West Kazakhstan Region, as well as to study the use of other saiga derivatives in pharmaceuticals.
To buy the horns at the state auction, the entrepreneur attracted an investor — a large Chinese pharmaceutical company.
HOW KAZAKHSTAN ENTERED THE SAIGA HORN MARKET
The sale of saiga horns was a continuation of the state campaign to regulate the population of these animals. In 2023–2024, Kazakhstan carried out the removal of saigas, and the resulting horns were collected, marked and placed in storage. Subsequently, the state began looking for ways to sell the accumulated stocks.
In December 2025, at the CITES conference, Kazakhstan received the right to international trade in saiga horns for a period of three years. Under the Bonn Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, Kazakhstan may sell no more than 10 tonnes of horns per year.
The Ministry of Ecology reported on the sale of accumulated saiga horns in March 2026. At that time, Minister Yerlan Nysynbayev spoke about preparations to sell 20 tonnes of horns stored in state warehouses.
At the same time, the existence of an approved quota does not yet mean that the entire planned volume will be sold. Historically, the main demand for saiga horns was linked to traditional Chinese medicine, where they were used in the manufacture of medicines.
Against this background, the first attempt to sell a tonne of horns for 1.27 billion tenge takes on additional significance: the question is not only what price the buyer is prepared to offer, but also how effectively the state has organised the sale of the stocks for which it has already received permission for international trade.
