Kazakhstan court pronounces seven-year term for Gulmira Satybaldy in a high-profile case
In the recent proceedings held in Astana, Gulmira Satybaldy, who is connected to a prominent political lineage through her relation to the family of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev, was sentenced to seven years in a penal institution for acts described as arbitrariness and kidnapping. The ruling also clarified that confiscation of her assets would not pose a risk to state interests. The sentence places her under the medium security regime within the prison system, and a decision was announced by the court on the terms of her custody. The authorities indicated plans to request the revocation of Satybaldy’s state honors, specifically the Order of Kurmet, from the current president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, as part of the broader punitive measures linked to the case.
Accomplices in the case were also sentenced to prison terms. Madi Batyrshaev was given seven years, while Rashid Utebekov received five years. In line with the sentences, neither accomplice faced a reduction in property rights, maintaining their possession of certain assets as determined by the court. The decisions add to a string of legal actions tied to alleged abuses of power and irregular conduct in relation to this business dispute that has drawn public attention in Kazakhstan.
Background information from March 17, 2022, shows that the Kazakhstan Anti-Corruption Service reported the detention of Gulmira Satybaldy in connection with allegations that a raider arrangement was used to take control of a business venture involving her former husband. The same report indicated that the ex-husband was suspected of embezzling approximately 747 million tenge from the budget in 2021 and of diverting government funds intended for construction and related works connected to facilities built for the 2017 Universiade in Alma-Ata. For further details, reference is made to contemporary coverage from Interfax and subsequent summaries from regional outlets. The case illustrates ongoing concerns about governance, property rights, and accountability within Kazakhstan’s legal and administrative framework, with officials and observers watching closely as the judicial process unfolds in Astana.