Kazakhstan halts illegal oil export scheme worth $99.8 million

Photo: Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee

BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 21. Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee has stopped the activities of an organized group involved in the illegal export of petroleum products outside Kazakhstan, with the total value of the operations estimated at around 45 billion tenge (about $99.8 million), according to the committee.

According to the investigation, the organizer of the scheme, an entrepreneur from the Mangystau region, entered into contracts with subsoil users to purchase crude oil. The oil was subsequently processed at the Standart Petroleum and Mangystau Oil Refining mini-refineries, with fictitious quality certificates issued, the committee said.

The products were then exported abroad by tanker through the Aktau seaport under the guise of heating fuel.

From 2019 to 2023, more than 160,000 tons of petroleum products were illegally exported abroad through Batys Nefte Trade LLP alone. The total value of the operations was estimated at around 45 billion tenge.

As part of a set of procedural measures carried out this year, the assets of individuals involved in the criminal case, as well as the mini-refineries, a tanker and other property, were confiscated.

More than 2 billion tenge (over $4.4 million) in illegally obtained proceeds and unpaid taxes was recovered for the state.

Earlier, five members of the organized criminal group, including the heads of the mini-refineries and the trading company, were sentenced by the Aktau City Court to eight years in prison under Part 3 of Article 234 and Part 2 of Article 262 of Kazakhstan’s Criminal Code.

The organizer of the scheme is on an international wanted list.

Currency conversions are based on the National Bank of Kazakhstan exchange rate: $1 = 450.69 tenge.