In September, the National Security Committee (NSC) together with the Prosecutor General's Office shut down the activities of officials of the state forest nature reserve "Semey Ormany" suspected of organising illegal logging and timber sales.
HOW THE ALLEGED SCHEME WORKED
According to the NSC press service, the suspects are accused of organising a sustained scheme of mass illegal logging and subsequent timber sales.
According to the investigation, in exchange for monetary rewards, officials provided unhindered access to the most valuable forest plots.
WHAT WAS FOUND DURING THE SEARCHES
During the searches, law enforcement officers seized accounting documentation, handwritten records on the allocation of forest blocks for logging, money and other material evidence.
A pre-trial investigation has been launched into the incident under Part 3 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan ("Receiving a bribe").
No other information is being disclosed in accordance with Part 1 of Article 201 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
CONTEXT
The "Semey Ormany" reserve has repeatedly found itself in the spotlight because of major forest fires and the aftermath of extinguishing them.
In June 2023, a major forest fire occurred in "Semey Ormany", as a result of which, according to official data, 14 forestry workers died. The area of the fire was 60 thousand hectares.
Subsequently, the Borodulikha District Court of the Abai Region found two former heads of the reserve and of the Novoshulba branch guilty. Each was sentenced to 7 years' imprisonment.
During a press conference of the Central Communications Service (CCS), the founder of the FBK and journalist Kirill Pavlov asked representatives of the Committee for Forestry and Wildlife how long it would take to restore "Semey Ormany" after the 2023 fire. In response, the acting chairman of the committee, Maksat Yelemesov, said that restoring the forest to its previous state would take about 60 years.
Besides the issue of forest restoration, the future fate of the damaged timber also drew attention. It was previously reported that after the forest fire in "Semey Ormany", more than 1 million 59.6 thousand cubic metres of damaged timber were harvested. It is sold through electronic auctions and on written applications, but the Ministry of Ecology has not disclosed how much timber has already been sold or how much money was raised.
Subsequently, the reserve again faced a major fire. On 16 July 2026, a fire broke out on its territory. At the peak of the operation, 769 people, 191 pieces of equipment and 8 helicopters were involved in extinguishing the fire. Aviation carried out 319 water drops, delivering 709 tonnes of water to the seat of the fire. The fire was contained on 18 July, and its complete extinguishing was officially announced on 28 July.
At the same time, the FBK editorial team identified a discrepancy in the assessment of the fire area. It turned out to be significantly larger than the preliminary estimate. According to data from the NASA FIRMS fire monitoring system, the fire covered about 1,676 hectares, whereas 370 hectares had been reported earlier.