Top Kazakhstan official faces jail term for multi-million bribe
13:44, 4 July 2014
ASTANA. KAZINFORM - One of Kazakhstan's top officials is suspected of accepting a multi-million bribe. A court in Astana has sanctioned arrest of Murat Ospanov, head of Natural Monopolies Regulation Agency of Kazakhstan, the press service of the Financial Police reports.
The Financial Police said in a statement that Mr. Ospanov had been charged with accepting at least $300,000 (nearly 55 million tenge) in bribes for protection of an unnamed natural monopoly entity. The court ordered Murat Ospanov into pretrial detention. As reported earlier, Mr. Ospanov was detained on July 1 on suspicion of accepting a $200,000 bribe.