Kazakhstan Justice - The Times Of Central Asia

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Kashagan

Kashagan Operator Faces July 20 Deadline to Pay $4.9 Billion Environmental Fine

Kazakhstan says it will begin compulsory collection proceedings against the North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), operator of the giant Kashagan oil field, if it does not pay a 2.3 trillion tenge ($4.9 billion) environmental fine by July 20. The deadline follows a domestic court ruling that has entered into legal force, even as the project’s foreign shareholders pursue international arbitration over the penalty. Deputy Minister of Justice Daniyel Vaisov announced the deadline on July 14. “Foreign companies currently have an obligation to pay 2.3 trillion tenge. If they fail to pay the fine by July 20, the Republic of Kazakhstan will proceed in accordance with the law, including enforcement proceedings and compulsory collection measures,” Vaisov said. However, in a statement to The Times of Central Asia, NCOC said a tribunal in parallel UNCITRAL arbitration proceedings had issued a restraining order prohibiting Kazakhstan from taking any measures to enforce the fine while the arbitration is pending. The company said the UNCITRAL proceedings had been initiated by Kazakhstan itself. NCOC and the contracting companies said they reject both the fine and the allegations underlying it and are contesting them through the UNCITRAL proceedings as well as the ICSID arbitration. They called on Kazakhstan to comply with the restraining order. The dispute stems from a 2022 inspection of Kashagan’s onshore processing facilities in the Atyrau Region. Environmental authorities said the operator had exceeded its permitted sulfur-storage limits, and the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources imposed the 2.3 trillion-tenge penalty in 2023. NCOC said it had obtained and maintained all required permits and had always conducted its sulfur management in full compliance with the law. The case has passed through several rounds of domestic litigation. On August 1, 2025, the Administrative Chamber of Astana City Court annulled the original penalty order because of procedural violations, without ruling on the substance of the environmental allegations. The ministry subsequently corrected the procedural defects and reissued the penalty later that month. An Astana court left the reissued fine in force on April 8, 2026. Vaisov said on July 14 that the ruling had entered into legal force. NCOC brings together Kazakhstan’s state-owned KazMunayGas and six foreign partners: Shell, TotalEnergies, Eni, ExxonMobil, CNPC, and Inpex. NCOC and the project’s six foreign shareholders have initiated treaty arbitration through the Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), arguing that Kazakhstan’s conduct breaches protections owed to investors. Vaisov said the parties were finalizing the composition of the ICSID tribunal, which is expected to be completed by the end of July. “We believe the Republic’s actions regarding the alleged sulfur-storage permit violations are inconsistent with its obligations under international investment treaties, including its obligation to provide fair and equitable treatment to investors,” NCOC said. The Kazakh authorities maintain that the sulfur was stored in breach of environmental rules. The mechanics of compulsory collection may prove difficult. Nurlan Zhumagulov, executive director of the Energy Monitor Foundation, said that NCOC acts as the project’s operator while each shareholder markets its own...

Traffic Offenses

Kazakhstan Olympic Boxing Champion Jailed for Drunk Driving After Multiple Crashes

Kazakhstan’s 2016 Olympic boxing champion Daniyar Yeleussinov has been sentenced to 20 days of administrative detention and banned from driving for seven years after being found guilty of driving under the influence and causing several traffic accidents in Astana. According to Astana’s Specialized Interdistrict Administrative Court, Yeleussinov admitted his guilt during the hearing. The ruling has not yet entered into legal force and may be appealed within 10 days. The incident occurred in Astana on July 9, when police detained Yeleussinov after he allegedly drove while intoxicated, causing a series of collisions and leaving the scenes of the accidents. According to the court, Yeleussinov first struck the supporting structure of an underground parking entrance. He then collided with another vehicle, causing it to hit a third car. In a subsequent collision, he struck another vehicle, which was pushed into a Toyota Hilux. The accidents caused mechanical damage to several vehicles and resulted in financial losses. Evidence presented to the court included a medical examination confirming mild alcohol intoxication, police reports, accident diagrams, video recordings, and witness statements. Yeleussinov admitted full responsibility. He was convicted under Article 608, Part 3 of Kazakhstan’s Code of Administrative Offenses, which covers driving under the influence resulting in property damage. The provision carries a mandatory penalty of 20 days of administrative detention and a seven-year driving ban. “The court found no circumstances preventing the application of administrative detention. Since the sanction under Article 608, Part 3 provides no alternative punishment, the court imposed 20 days of administrative arrest and deprivation of the right to drive vehicles for seven years,” the court said. Yeleussinov, who was born in Kazakhstan’s West Kazakhstan Region, enjoyed one of the country’s most successful amateur boxing careers. He won the 2013 World Championships in the 69-kilogram category, claimed Asian Championships and Asian Games titles between 2013 and 2015, and won Olympic gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. After turning professional in 2018, Yeleussinov signed with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and won the International Boxing Organization welterweight title in 2021. His professional career subsequently slowed, and he has fought only twice since returning to the ring in 2024. In March 2025, he became the first Kazakhstani boxer to sign with Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing promotion, although he has yet to make his debut under the new banner. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, another prominent Kazakhstani boxer, Zhanibek Alimkhanuly, was stripped of one of his two middleweight world titles in March after testing positive for a banned substance.

Surrogacy Recruitment

Central Asian Women Recruited Into Georgia’s Surrogacy Market via Social Media

Women from Central Asia are being recruited into Georgia’s surrogacy market through social media, adding a new labor channel to an industry already under pressure from foreign demand and inadequate supervision. A University of Oxford study published in Mobilities identifies Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in that recruitment chain. The author, Dr. Polina Vlasenko of Oxford’s Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS), carried out fieldwork in Kazakhstan and Georgia between 2023 and 2024, drawing on more than 100 interviews across the surrogacy and egg donation market. Georgia has allowed surrogacy since 1997. Under Article 143 of the Law of Georgia on Health Care, in vitro fertilization (IVF) may involve a surrogate mother if a woman does not have a uterus and the couple gives written consent. If a child is born, the couple is recognized as the parents. The donor or surrogate mother has no right to be recognized as a parent. That provision gives intended parents direct legal certainty in Georgia, unlike jurisdictions where legal parenthood may require a separate post-birth court process. For women recruited from Central Asia, the difference is in the hidden parts of the process. Opaque recruitment methods can lead into surveillance-style accommodation, while agents often mediate access to the clinic and to payments that may be delayed or disputed. According to a 2020 statement by Georgia’s Ministry of Justice, 98% of people using surrogacy services in Georgia were foreign-citizen couples, while 100% of surrogate mothers were Georgian-citizen women. Before the war, Chinese nationals accounted for 14% of people pursuing surrogacy in Georgia, and Chinese social media later carried accounts of newborns on flights from Tbilisi to Urumqi. Until Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukraine was considered Europe’s biggest surrogacy hub. By contrast, in December of that year, a Russian law barred foreign clients and stateless people from using the country’s surrogacy system, limiting access to Russian citizens. By 2022, Georgia was already gaining momentum as a reproductive tourism destination, but the war in Ukraine accelerated that rise. As demand grew, recruitment networks began reaching women in Central Asia through social media and private messaging channels. For women recruited from Central Asia, the complexity lies in the online posts and private contacts that turn economic need into pregnancy abroad. Russian-language advertising often uses “surmama,” a shorthand for surrogate mother that now sits inside the market’s online vocabulary. Public posts tied to Georgia programs refer to Tbilisi and Bishkek. Some use Kyrgyz-language wording and hashtags for Kyrgyzstan. The communication network is plentiful in posts yet sparse in detail, as a stack of cash appears in one Instagram post while other accounts use the polished visual language common to fertility advertising online, where smiling young women and clean graphics make paid pregnancy look simple. One Instagram account advertising surrogacy services in Georgia directs users to a WhatsApp number linked to a Kazakhstan-based contact. The account does not establish whether that person recruits women directly or represents a clinic. The WhatsApp profile image offers...

Police Drones

Kazakhstan Opens Drone Operator Training Lab for Interior Ministry

Kazakhstan is actively integrating modern unmanned aerial technologies into law enforcement, with the Interior Ministry opening a new training laboratory where police officers will receive comprehensive instruction in drone operations. According to Polisia.kz, the training program includes several stages: theoretical coursework, simulator-based exercises, and practical computer-based training. Particular attention is being given to the use of drones in real operational tasks, from rapid response missions to search and rescue operations. “On the instructions of the minister of internal affairs, a training laboratory for unmanned aerial systems has been established at the ministry’s Operational and Forensic Department. Our task is to prepare officers who can confidently and effectively use modern technologies in their daily work,” said Rolland Moldybayev, chief forensic specialist at the department. Unmanned aerial vehicles are already being used by police for night surveillance and aerial reconnaissance. Equipped with high-resolution cameras and thermal imaging systems, they allow officers to search for missing persons at night and in difficult weather conditions. Drones also provide an operational aerial view of crime scenes, allowing officers to document situations before investigative teams arrive and helping preserve critical evidence. In addition, drones are used to inspect hard-to-reach areas, including mountainous terrain, steppe zones, and abandoned facilities. This has significantly improved the effectiveness of searches for missing persons and supports the surveillance and apprehension of wanted suspects by enabling covert and safer monitoring. “The practical effectiveness of these technologies has already been proven in the field: in the Turkestan region, the use of a drone helped quickly solve a livestock theft case. Suspects were identified, their movements tracked, and evidence collected, which led investigators to the buyer of the stolen property,” the Interior Ministry said. The ministry added that the introduction of drone technologies marks an important step in the development of modern policing, increasing response speed, operational accuracy, and overall public safety. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Kazakhstan also plans to launch mass production of drones for police needs, both at the Karaganda-based research and production association Perspektiva and at a correctional facility in the Akmola region.

Drug Crime

Kazakhstan Seeks to Block Nearly 12,000 Drug-Related Websites in 2026

Kazakhstan has referred nearly 12,000 websites for blocking since the beginning of 2026 for advertising or facilitating the sale of narcotics, according to Eldar Abdikenov, deputy chairman of the Interior Ministry’s Committee for Combating Drug Crime. According to official data, more than 3,000 drug-related criminal offenses were recorded in Kazakhstan between January and May 2026, including around 1,500 classified as drug crimes. “As part of efforts to combat online drug trafficking, nearly 12,000 internet resources used for advertising and selling banned substances have been submitted for blocking through the Cybernadzor system,” Abdikenov said. The number of drug-related websites flagged through Cybernadzor has risen sharply in recent years. In 2022, authorities submitted 1,996 websites for blocking, of which 1,493 were blocked. In 2023, the number of blocked sites rose to 3,500, while in 2025 it reached 10,289. Abdikenov also said that, in cooperation with the National Bank, law enforcement agencies have stepped up efforts to trace and disrupt financial flows linked to the drug trade. Since the start of the year, suspicious transactions worth more than 107 million tenge, or about $207,000, have been halted. Around 125,000 foreign payment cards have also been blocked, and authorities are reviewing data from some 20,000 cryptocurrency wallets. During the same period, six organized criminal groups, including one transnational network, were dismantled. Police also shut down 12 laboratories producing synthetic drugs and 42 “phyto-laboratories” cultivating plants containing banned substances. “The main threat continues to come from synthetic drugs. Authorities have seized 466 kilograms of synthetic substances and more than 11 tons of precursors from illegal circulation,” Abdikenov added. Under Article 297 of Kazakhstan’s Criminal Code, the illegal possession, transportation, sale, and distribution of narcotic substances are punishable by prison terms ranging from five to 20 years, depending on the severity of the offense. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Kazakhstan’s Interior Ministry is also planning to introduce financial rewards for citizens who provide information leading to the detection of drug-related crimes.

Bloggers

Kyrgyzstan Proposes Blogger Tax Breaks as Kazakhstan Tightens Scrutiny

Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan are taking sharply different approaches to the growing influence of bloggers. In Bishkek, President Sadyr Japarov has signed a decree calling for tax incentives for the IT sector, startups and creative industries, including bloggers, a move that has sparked criticism even from content creators themselves. In Astana, meanwhile, authorities are intensifying scrutiny of influencers’ income and using criminal law in high-profile cases involving online figures. Kazakh tax authorities have continued scrutinizing the earnings of popular bloggers, alongside high-profile enforcement cases. In addition, journalists and other online voices in Kazakhstan have faced prosecution under Article 274 of the Criminal Code, which concerns the dissemination of knowingly false information and carries the possibility of a prison sentence. Japarov’s Tax Initiative Sparks Debate Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov’s initiative to introduce tax breaks for the IT sector, startups, and representatives of the creative industries has sparked broad public debate. The decree, signed on June 12 and titled “On Measures to Improve the Tax System and Tax Administration,” calls for broad changes to tax legislation, including five-year tax holidays for several categories of business. Under the decree, companies and entrepreneurs working in software development, information systems, and artificial intelligence may be exempt from number of taxes for five years. The proposed benefits would also extend to startups, outsourcing companies, producers of film, video and television content, bloggers, remote employees of foreign companies, and other creative-industry workers. Under the same preferential regime, authorities also plan to set income tax at 5% and social security contributions at 12% of the average monthly wage for these categories. Kyrgyzstan’s State Tax Service says the new measure will help position the country as a regional center for IT and creative industries, including artificial intelligence. The agency expects the tax incentives to attract investment, stimulate the creation of new startups and increase exports of digital services. Supporters of the initiative argue that reducing the tax burden could provide an important boost for young entrepreneurs and technology companies, allowing them to direct more resources toward product development, the introduction of new technologies, and improved competitiveness. Authorities also hope the measure will help retain young specialists in the country and make Kyrgyzstan more attractive to international companies. At the same time, the proposal has drawn criticism, particularly over the inclusion of bloggers among those eligible for tax benefits. Social media users have questioned why the state is granting tax breaks to content creators while doctors, teachers, and other socially important professions continue to pay taxes in full. Kyrgyz blogger and entrepreneur Ilim Karypbekov has publicly opposed exempting bloggers from taxes. He said content creators earning money from advertising should pay taxes on the same basis as other entrepreneurs. Karypbekov said he supports tax incentives for the IT sector but believes it is a mistake to extend them to bloggers. “If I earned 100 soms, I would give four soms to the state. That is a very small amount,” Karypbekov said, adding that many popular bloggers generate substantial advertising revenue and...