State prosecution says ex-Orda.kz editor guilty on three counts, seeks eight years

August 14, 2026 at 05:00 PM2 min

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State prosecutors told the court at the trial of former Orda.kz editor-in-chief Gulnar Bazhkenova that her guilt is fully proven on three counts: illegal business activity, embezzlement of 84.2 million tenge, and spreading false information. The prosecution asked the court to convict her on all charges and impose eight years in prison. The prosecution said the defense offered no objective evidence to refute the case materials.

The Three Counts

Former Orda.kz editor-in-chief Gulnar Bazhkenova faces three counts: illegal business activity, embezzlement of entrusted funds, and spreading false information. The first count covers systematic purchase and resale of apartments in Almaty without registration as a business, with unpaid personal income tax of 12.12 million tenge. The second, most serious count involves transfer of 84.2 million tenge from Orda Media KZ LLP to an individual entrepreneur who was identified as an editorial employee. The third count relates to publication of false information via Orda.kz that damaged reputations; all victims denied the published material.

Prosecution Evidence

The prosecutor told the court that victim and witness testimony, bank and accounting documents, tax data, specialist conclusions and court expertise formed a coherent picture. The prosecution said the defense presented no objective evidence to refute those materials. A witness confirmed transfers from the company to the individual entrepreneur were made at the defendant's request. The prosecution separately highlighted 4.64 million tenge paid directly from the company account to the Haileybury Almaty private school, where Bazhkenova's son studied. Bazhkenova said she borrowed the money from the company, but the case file contains no loan agreement or partnership decision, and the money was not returned.

Sentencing Request

The prosecution asked the court to convict Bazhkenova on all charges and sentence her to eight years in prison, according to DKNews.kz. For the illegal business count, the prosecutor requested 2 years and 6 months under Article 214, part 2, point 2 of the Criminal Code. Ratel.kz reported the requested sentence includes a two-year deferral of enforcement and a ban on journalistic work. The final decision on guilt rests with the court, not the prosecution.