The Taraz City Court No. 2 delivered a verdict in the case of former Deputy Head of the Police Department of Zhambyl Region Zhaidarbek Kuttybayev and former head of the Talas District Police Department Yerken Abayev. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
Kuttybayev was charged with fraud on an especially large scale, while Abayev was charged with bribery and complicity in an offense.
According to Kazinform, both were found guilty. However, the defendants denied the charges until the end, claiming the case was fabricated.
The court sentenced Zhaidarbek Kuttybayev to 6 years in prison and Yerken Abayev to 5 years. Additionally, they were banned for life from holding positions in public service and law enforcement agencies. Both were also stripped of their special ranks.
Furthermore, Kuttybayev was ordered to compensate the victim for damages in the amount of 5 million tenge.
The prosecutor insisted on real prison terms. The lawyers argued that there was insufficient evidence and that the case was based mainly on the victim's testimony. According to them, the investigation was biased towards conviction.
In his final statement, Kuttybayev claimed that the victim had slandered him on the orders of the internal security service.
"The acting head of the Internal Security Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs ordered me to resign voluntarily. I refused. Then they also offered Abayev to slander me, assuring: 'We only need Kuttybayev, and we will get you out, reclassify the article.' I have six children. I worked in the internal affairs bodies for 29 years, during which I never had any complaints. I ask the court to acquit me because I am innocent," Kuttybayev's words were quoted by the Telegram channel Halyqstan.
Abayev's defense also insisted on the absence of direct evidence. His father spoke in court, drawing attention to the results of the examination of conversations — according to him, they did not record direct confirmation of the bribe transfer.
The court noted that witnesses were interrogated during the trial, and their testimony was compared with the case materials. The circumstances of the events — the movements and actions of the participants on that day — were also checked.
According to the court's findings, the defendants did not dispute some facts but denied the key one — receiving money. Ultimately, the court concluded that guilt was proven.
After the verdict was announced, relatives of the convicted stated that they disagreed with the decision and would appeal it to a higher court.
Earlier, Kursiv reported that the Ministry of Internal Affairs began a purge of the ranks after a scandal involving police officers in Taraz. And in September 2025, amid high-profile detentions of subordinates, the head of the police of Zhambyl Region, Bakytzhan Malybaev, submitted a resignation report.