Former Vice Minister of Culture and Sports Yerlan Kozhagapanov, sentenced to three years for corruption, has been released. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.
According to the Committee of the Criminal Executive System of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, based on a court decision, the unserved part of the sentence in the form of imprisonment was replaced with a milder punishment — a fine.
The committee noted that decisions on reviewing materials and replacing punishment, parole, and other issues related to the execution of the sentence are made only by judicial authorities.
Former Vice Minister of Culture and Sports Yerlan Kozhagapanov was detained in March 2024. In 2018, he facilitated the conclusion of a contract for organizing the XV Forum of Interregional Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia in Petropavlovsk in the interests of a commercial company.
The event's budget was unjustifiably increased nearly twofold, resulting in damage to the state of over 1 billion tenge. In May 2025, the court found him guilty and sentenced him to three years in prison. He was also banned from holding public office for life.