Seventeen years after a brutal murder in Almaty, a court has sentenced one of the defendants in the high-profile case. The man, who had been hiding in Europe under a false identity for years, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv.

According to the Prosecutor General's Office of Kazakhstan, the crime was committed on the night of May 19, 2008, on Furmanov Street. The court established that Yusupov and his accomplice Kovalenko, who were in conflict with a representative of the criminal underworld, ambushed the man near his home.

The victim was shot several times in the back of the head and died at the scene. After the murder, Yusupov left Kazakhstan and was placed on the international wanted list.

According to case materials, Kovalenko continued his criminal activities after the murder. In the summer of 2008, he was detained after an armed incident at the 'Old Fortress' recreation area in Kapshagai. A police officer was killed and four other people were seriously injured.

In 2009, Kovalenko was sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Meanwhile, law enforcement continued to search for his accomplice, Yusupov. According to available information, he was known in criminal circles by the nickname 'King Kong' and was part of the circle of a well-known Kyrgyz crime boss. Kyrgyz law enforcement also sought him in connection with the murder of a car wash owner in Bishkek in 2007.

For many years, Yusupov hid in European countries using altered personal data. In August 2025, he was detained while crossing the border of Lithuania.

In November of the same year, at the request of the Prosecutor General's Office of Kazakhstan, he was extradited to his homeland.

In July 2026, the Specialized Interdistrict Court for Criminal Cases of Almaty found Yusupov guilty of complicity in murder committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The Prosecutor General's Office noted that the extradition was the result of strengthened international cooperation and direct contacts with competent authorities of foreign states.

'The principle of 'Law and Order' means, among other things, the inevitability of responsibility: neither the statute of limitations for the search, nor the change of personal data, nor being outside the country should become an opportunity to avoid justice,' the agency stated.

The prosecutor's office emphasized that work to search for and return to Kazakhstan persons hiding from justice abroad continues.

Earlier, Kursiv reported that a defendant in a case involving the cashing of 2.5 billion tenge was extradited from South Korea.