In Shymkent, the high-profile court case involving former deputy mayor Maxut Isakhov is nearing its conclusion.
Isakhov was accused of attempting to bribe the first deputy head of the National Security Committee. However, during the arguments, the state prosecutor reclassified the charge to attempted bribery.
According to the case materials, Isakhov allegedly offered $200,000 to the committee official to close a criminal case against him. The investigation revealed that the former deputy mayor tried multiple times to "bribe" the committee employee. As a result, during the arguments, the state prosecutor requested an 8.5-year sentence in a medium-security prison for Isakhov and also proposed revoking his state award "Kurmet".
"Isakhov attempted to offer a bribe to a public official on an especially large scale - $210,000. However, his criminal intent was timely thwarted by the law enforcement agency. Isakhov committed a particularly serious crime. Furthermore, Isakhov showed no remorse for his actions, on the contrary, from the beginning of the pre-trial investigation, he tried to evade responsibility by providing false testimonies. It is necessary to impose an appropriate punishment of imprisonment on him," stated the state prosecutor Mukhtar Aryastanov during the arguments.
The main evidence of Isakhov's guilt, according to the state prosecutor, is the recordings of covert investigative actions. However, Isakhov's defense lawyer Zhania Boda disagrees with the prosecution's position. She insists that the former deputy mayor of Shymkent should be acquitted.
"If we compare the video recording at Rixos, as well as the sequence of the conversation - they do not correspond to each other in terms of time and movement. Moreover, we can see that initially people greet each other, and then the recording starts from the middle. Therefore, this indicates that there was editing. The combination of the above violations confirms the unfounded nature of the accusation regarding Isakhov's intent to offer a bribe. The authenticity of Isakhov's speech and voice has not been established in a legal manner. I also draw the court's attention to the fact that the indictment does not mention at all that Isakhov handed a bag of money to his nephew. There is no such accusation," reassured Isakhov's defense lawyer.
Throughout the judicial process, Maxut Isakhov has denied all accusations against him. He did not admit guilt during the pre-trial investigation either. According to him, the first deputy head of the National Security Committee initially demanded $500,000 from him, allegedly threatening him with criminal prosecution.
During the arguments, the state prosecutor also mentioned that there is weak anti-corruption work being conducted in the Shymkent mayor's office. The prosecutor requested the court to issue a private ruling against the city administration.
It is worth noting that in the upcoming trial, the accused of a serious crime, Maxut Isakhov, will have the opportunity to make a final statement.
Maxut Isakhov, 50, held the position of deputy mayor of Shymkent since February 2020. He was born on January 23, 1974, in the Shardarinsky district of the Turkestan (South Kazakhstan) region.
He was arrested on July 20, 2023, and the information about the detention of the former deputy mayor of Shymkent was confirmed by the National Security Committee of Kazakhstan. On February 26, it was reported that during a preliminary hearing, Isakhov's defense requested a change in his detention measure as he was in pre-trial detention. The defense justified their request citing Isakhov's poor health. However, this fact was not confirmed during the proceedings. Additionally, the defense lawyers of the former deputy mayor of Shymkent requested that the case be heard in a court in a different region. Ultimately, the defense's requests were not granted.
On March 19, during the second trial, the first deputy head of the National Security Committee, to whom the $200,000 were intended, was questioned. Manap Sarbasov, who is also under investigation in another case, testified in Isakhov's case as a witness.
In his testimony, the former first deputy head of the National Security Committee stated that after the incident, the former deputy mayor of Shymkent started inviting him to meetings. Upon informing his superiors, Sarbasov initiated covert investigative measures. According to the witness, during the meetings, Isakhov initially offered him a tender, then $100,000, and later increased the "price" to $200,000. Additionally, as Sarbasov claims, the former deputy mayor of Shymkent even came up with the location for the bribe handover and a codeword.
