Photo from kaztag.kz
A criminal case has been opened against Aset Mataev, director general of the Kazakh Telegraph Agency (KazTAG), and Amir Kassenov, the outlet’s editor-in-chief. They have been designated as suspects following a complaint filed by Freedom Finance “in connection with publications about fraudulent schemes involving the company’s leadership,” KazTAG reported.
Mataev and Kassenov have been summoned for questioning on December 9.
According to the report, the KazTAG newsroom learned about the investigation from media reports on November 20, while the case itself was opened on August 18. The agency said police had been conducting investigations and expert examinations for several months without notifying the editors. Attorney Yerlan Makenov stated that investigators violated Kazakhstan’s Criminal Procedure Code by failing to give the agency’s leadership timely access to the order appointing the expert reviews.
Another attorney, Rena Kerimova, said KazTAG’s leadership had been designated as suspects “outside established procedures.” “For someone to be declared a suspect without their participation, they must be hiding or otherwise evading investigative actions. Neither Mataev nor Kassenov has done so,” she noted.
The outlet Kursiv.kz reported that the case concerns the dissemination of knowingly false information. It relates to publications about defrauded investors of Freedom Finance, owned by billionaire Timur Turlov, allegations the company dismissed as slander and manipulation.
KazTAG said one of the primary sources for its reporting was attorney Svetlana Oralbayeva, who described investors’ lost funds and the transfer of money to offshore accounts, as well as several alleged victims who contacted the newsroom directly.
The agency also claimed the case was opened to intimidate journalists ahead of the upcoming presidential election. According to the newsroom, the initiative is linked to officials in the presidential administration and figures associated with the so-called “old Kazakhstan.”
