The inter-district criminal court of Astana has delivered a verdict in the case of millionaire bloggers Zhanabylovs, who were accused of illegal entrepreneurship and money laundering, reports Todayinfo.
Since Friday, April 24, relatives of the Zhanabylovs and journalists awaited a decision on a procedural agreement on guilt admission and cooperation with the investigation. The final day drew significant media attention: previously up to 10 journalists attended, but now about 50 people gathered.
Prosecutor Olzhas Khairullaev announced a new punishment option. Yerbolat Zhanabylov was proposed two years of suspended imprisonment with property confiscation. His wife Elmira Tolegenova received two years of actual imprisonment, but with a two-year deferment due to minor children.
“Based on Article 58, Part 3 of the Criminal Code, by absorbing the less severe punishment with the more severe one, finally sentence Tolegenova to two years of imprisonment in a minimum security facility with property confiscation. According to Part 1 of Article 74 of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan (due to the presence of minor children), defer the execution of the sentence for two years,” the verdict states.
The defendants fully compensated damages of 247.7 million tenge by April 27. The court confiscated eight Hyundai Elantra cars and 17 iPhone 16 phones, while the seizure on Lamborghini Urus and Lexus LX 600 was lifted and the vehicles returned. Lawyer Gauhar Aitzhanova stated they would not appeal the verdict.
