President Tokayev held a meeting on the tasks of combating corruption and highlighted the need to introduce a three-tier model of the criminal justice process in the country.
On April 16, President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev introduced the newly appointed head of the Anti-Corruption Agency at the meeting on the tasks of combating corruption. Marat Akhmetzhanov had served as Deputy Prosecutor General of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The leader of the nation instructed that the newly appointed high-ranking official introduce a three-tier model of the criminal justice process, the press office of the President of Kazakhstan reports.
Tokayev thanked the ex-head of the department Alik Zhatkambayevich for the large-scale work he had done to modernise the Agency and implement the Adaldyq alany, Antikor ortalygy and Adal bilim projects.
The President emphasised once again that security of the country and the well-being of the people directly depended on consistent measures for combating bribery, extortion and criminal patronage and set a number of important tasks to the Agency at all levels. Measures and punishment should not be limited to criminal prosecution.
The state apparatus avoids making decisions and is vulnerable to bureaucracy, and officials are afraid of taking on personal responsibility. The Agency must distinguish between mistakes and wilful crimes. A perpetrator should be brought to justice only if there was a complete picture of corpus delicti, Tokayev said, noting that the active involvement of the public and preventive measures were key tools to combat corruption.
In accordance with the President’s instructions, the work on the draft Law On Public Control that would ensure the transparency and accountability of state bodies to society and enable activists to use the tools of legal control was underway.
The President instructed that the newly appointed head of the Agency should pay special attention to search and confiscation of illegally acquired property, together with the financial monitoring bodies, and noted the potential of the follow the money principle. The President underscored the inevitability of confiscation of illegally acquired property, which would be a step to prevent corruption.
A three-tier model of the criminal process is being introduced in accordance with my instructions. This model will allow avoiding accusatory bias and excluding illegal interference in the criminal process. I instruct the Agency to bring its activities in line with the three-tier model of the criminal justice process,” the President said, emphasising that society, businesses and investors should feel protected from corruption pressure.
