Photo: Inform.kz
Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee announced on May 13 that Talgat Ardan, the former head of the Astana LRT company, has been detained in Turkey. Ardan had previously been sentenced in absentia and placed on an international wanted list.
A former top executive of the company behind the construction of Astana’s Light Rail Transit (LRT) system—one of Kazakhstan’s most troubled infrastructure projects—Ardan fled the country before legal proceedings began over delays and mismanagement. He was placed on an international wanted list in 2019. Only this year did Kazakh authorities locate him in Antalya, prompting Turkish law enforcement to carry out the arrest.
On May 9, a court in Antalya ruled to deport Ardan to Kazakhstan. He is currently being held in custody.
The Astana LRT project was originally scheduled for completion in 2014 but has suffered years of delays. Construction was halted in April 2019 due to financial issues, and Kazakhstan sought to refinance a loan from the China Development Bank.
By July 2019, the projected cost had ballooned to around $1.5 billion. In early August that year, criminal cases were launched against executives of Astana LRT, who were suspected of embezzling state funds. Among the accused were high-ranking officials from the city administration, including Deputy Mayor Kanat Sultanbekov.
Investigators allege that Sultanbekov—now residing in the United States—and Ardan approved inflated costs for project documentation, consulting services, and technical supervision, causing an estimated loss of 5 billion tenge (approximately $13 million) to the state.
Both men were sentenced in absentia. Ardan was convicted under Articles 189 and 361 of Kazakhstan’s Criminal Code (“Embezzlement or Misappropriation of Entrusted Property” and “Abuse of Official Powers”) and sentenced to nine years in prison.
Construction of the Astana LRT continues to this day, with authorities now aiming to launch the long-delayed system in the third quarter of this year.
