Abai Region Court Sentences Entrepreneur to 3 Years for Illegal Sunflower Seed Export

August 27, 2026 at 03:27 PM1 min

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An appeals court in Kazakhstan's Abai region sentenced an entrepreneur to three years in prison for illegally exporting over 13,000 tons of sunflower seeds to China using forged documents. The court also convicted him of money laundering, overturning a lower court's acquittal on that charge. The scheme caused more than 266 million tenge in damages to the state and the national carrier.

Key Facts

The entrepreneur exported over 13,000 tons of sunflower seeds to China in 2022 using fictitious accounting documents and false origin information.
The state lost more than 130 million tenge in tax revenue, and the national carrier suffered damages exceeding 136 million tenge.
The appeals court overturned the first-instance acquittal on money laundering and convicted the entrepreneur of legalizing criminally obtained funds.
The entrepreneur was sentenced to three years in prison.

The Illegal Export Scheme

In 2022, the entrepreneur used fictitious accounting documents and false information about the origin of goods to obtain certificates of Kazakhstani origin. These certificates enabled the export of over 13,000 tons of sunflower seeds to China. As a result, the state did not receive more than 130 million tenge in taxes. The national carrier suffered damages exceeding 136 million tenge.

Appeals Court Ruling

The first-instance court convicted the entrepreneur of tax evasion and causing property damage through deception but acquitted him on money laundering charges. The regional prosecutor's office disagreed with the acquittal and filed an appeal. In the appeal, the prosecutor proved that the criminally obtained money was subsequently introduced into financial circulation through banking operations. The appeals court agreed with the prosecution's arguments, overturned the acquittal, and convicted the entrepreneur of legalizing criminally obtained funds. The entrepreneur was sentenced to three years in prison.