Former Kazakh Minister Jailed On Corruption Charges

A Kazakh court has sentenced former Sport Minister Talghat Ermegyaev to 14 years in prison on corruption charges.

A court in Astana found Ermegyaev guilty on June 9 of bribe-taking and sentenced him the same day.

Ermegyaev, 47, served as minister of sports and tourism in 2011-12.

In January 2013, he was appointed chairman of the Astana Expo-2017 Joint Stock Company, which is responsible for organizing an international exposition on energy in June-September 2017.

But Ermegyaev was placed under house arrest in June 2015 amid investigations into a high-profile embezzlement case.

Several former Kazakh officials have faced prosecution on suspicion of graft in recent years, with some sentenced to long prison terms.