The Atyrau Regional Court has delivered a verdict in a case concerning fraud during the reconstruction of the "Astrakhan – Mangyshlak" main water pipeline. Five defendants were sentenced to between 5 and 6 years and 8 months in prison.
WHAT THE COURT ESTABLISHED
The Atyrau Regional Court reported that S., using his official position and unofficially controlling the contractor that won the tender to replace the pipeline, orchestrated an unlawful adjustment to the project.
According to the circumstances established by the court, the scheme involved the deputy client K., employees of the contractor I. and M., and a representative of the design supervision A. Funds from the quasi-public sector, according to the court's decision, were stolen through deception and abuse of trust.
The case was considered under paragraph 2 of part 4 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan ("Fraud on an especially large scale"). The court stated that the defendants' guilt was confirmed by witness testimony, materials from covert investigative actions (CIA), correspondence between the defendants and witnesses, as well as the conclusions of specialists and experts.
WHO THE COURT IDENTIFIED BY THE INITIAL S.
The official court statement does not disclose S.'s name. However, the Telegram channel "Kozachkov Offside" reported that the main figure in the case is Berik Salpek.
Mikhail Kozachkov also reported that Salpek previously headed the LLP "Magistralny Vodovod" (Main Water Pipeline), and later worked as the managing director of JSC "KazTransOil".
The publication also names the other figures in the case — Askar Kultumiyev, Nurzhan Akhanov, Arman Mazkenov and Aslan Ishchanov.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MONEY
The indictment cites damages of over 6 billion tenge. It is reported that when replacing the pipes, products were used that turned out to be cheaper than those specified in the project, however, the total project cost did not change.
In the official statement from the Atyrau Regional Court, the exact amount of damage is not given. The court reported the theft of quasi-public sector funds and indicated that the victim's claim was partially satisfied.
WHAT SENTENCES THE FIGURES RECEIVED
The court sentenced Berik Salpek to 6 years and 8 months in prison.
Askar Kultumiyev, Arman Mazkenov and Aslan Ishchanov each received 6 years in prison. Nurzhan Akhanov was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
All convicts were taken into custody in the courtroom. The verdict has not entered into legal force.
HOW THE WATER PIPELINE IS LINKED TO KAZTRANSOIL
Berik Salpek previously headed the LLP "Magistralny Vodovod", and in recent years worked as the managing director of JSC "KazTransOil".
The national company financed the reconstruction of the "Astrakhan – Mangyshlak" main water pipeline, through which fresh water flows to the Atyrau and Mangistau regions.
The reconstruction was completed in December 2023, and the pipeline's capacity was increased from 110,000 to 170,000 cubic metres per day.
CONTEXT
The FBRK editorial team wrote about this case back in January 2025. At that time, the editorial team's sources reported possible violations in procurement at the LLP "Magistralny Vodovod". In particular, this concerned contracts with the LLP "Aleks-Asu" for the maintenance and disposal of computer equipment amounting to more than 140 million tenge.
In July 2025, FBRK learned that the case of the alleged theft was already being heard in the court in Atyrau.
