Shady dealings with land in Shymkent have been exposed by the well-known public figure and blogger Didar Smagulov. He writes:

«In 2007, an amnesty took place in connection with the legalization of property — at that time, it was possible to legitimize land plots with buildings. Each decision was issued for a specific address.

However, officials in Shymkent decided to, under the guise of one set of plots, seize others that were more lucrative.

For example, in the photo — an 8-acre plot in the city center, opposite the ‘Shymkent Hall’ restaurant.

It was decided to transfer it to another person based on the decision of Commission #38648 dated 17.05.2007, whereas this decision concerned an entirely different plot in the ‘Samal-3’ district, covering only 3 acres.

Imagine the surprise of the businessman and owner of the plot when the ‘new owners’ came to him and said to leave with his business?

Thanks to the Department of Land Resources Management, the court sorted out the situation and recognized all decisions of the authorities as illegal.

We identified 39 such court decisions. Considering that in the last 5 years, 3000 plots have been issued in Shymkent based on the decision of the legalization commission, we can expect a lot of noise.

For example, in May 2022, an official from the land relations department, Zhunusbekov, based on decision #49152, approved a project for a plot in the same ‘Samal-3.’

From June to September, the plot was resold several times, even though the Commission’s decision related to an entirely different piece of land. Moreover, according to the law and the rules for obtaining rights, legalization does not apply to land plots without buildings.

All transactions were also declared invalid by the court.

There is a clear abuse of authority by the deputy head of the UZO in Shymkent. The lands have all been returned; now we await punishment for those responsible.»