Essence of the Charges
According to the case materials, private entrepreneurs won an auction organized by the State Agency for Management of State Property to lease premises owned by the Physical Culture Academy. During the lease period, the entrepreneurs opened a cafeteria; however, the lease term was nearing its end. As a result, one of the businessmen approached Rector Azizbaev with a request to extend the contract, to which he responded with a demand for 300,000 soms. Subsequently, the amount was reduced to 100,000 soms.
After that, the entrepreneur shared information about the rector's demands with a partner, who also decided to approach Azizbaev. During negotiations, the rector agreed to accept a bribe of 1,000 US dollars, which the entrepreneur handed over to the instructor Ch.A.M. After receiving the money, Ch.A.M. transferred 900 dollars to his colleague K.T.B.
Later, GKNB officers conducted a search in K.T.B.'s office, where he voluntarily surrendered the money. Additionally, another 100 dollars was handed over in the offices of Azizbaev and Ch.A.M.
On July 4, 2024, all three were detained and placed in custody.
According to the decisions of the Oktyabrsky District Court:
- Azizbaev was found guilty under Article 342 Part 2 Item 3 of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic ("Receiving a bribe by a group of individuals") and sentenced to a fine of 1 million soms;
- M.Ch.A. was also found guilty under the same article and sentenced to the same amount;
- B.K.T. was found guilty under Article 344 Part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic ("Mediating in bribery") and sentenced to a fine of 300,000 soms.
Additionally, Azizbaev and M.Ch.A. received further penalties in the form of property confiscation and a three-year ban on holding positions in the public service.
However, the Bishkek City Court amended the decisions of the first instance.
As a result, all three convicted individuals were found guilty under Article 209 Part 2 Items 1 and 3 of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic ("Fraud in a significant amount by a group of individuals in collusion") and were sentenced to a fine of 70,000 soms. The confiscation of property and the prohibition on holding state and municipal positions for Azizbaev and M.Ch.A. were also revoked.
Conclusion
In his cassation appeal, the prosecutor insisted on a review of the case in the first instance.
The defense attorney requested the termination of the case against M.Ch.A. due to reconciliation with the victims, while his colleague insisted on maintaining the city court's decision, arguing that the cassation appeal should not be satisfied since the victims did not object to the termination of the criminal prosecution.
The judicial panel of the Supreme Court changed the decision of the second instance, and the case against M.Ch.A. was terminated due to the reached agreement with the victims.
It should be noted that Saitdin Azizbaev was appointed rector of the Physical Culture Academy on February 4, 2021.
