"Did the Anti-Corruption Agency intimidate everyone?" The Anti-Corruption Service commented on Tokayev's remarks.

"I will read the question: 'How can you explain the words of the head of state regarding the slow work of the government and state agencies, which have been intimidated by the Anti-Corruption Agency? In what way is this intimidation expressed?'"

The agency, in accordance with the directives of the head of state, strictly adheres to the principles of objectivity and legality, as every decision impacts a person's fate.

The rights and freedoms of citizens are of utmost importance to us, and an honest official acting within the law should not fear taking responsibility when making decisions.

Legitimate decisions should be made promptly. A public servant should not face any difficulties in the coordination and adoption of lawful decisions," - replied Bigaidarov.

A representative of the Anti-Corruption Agency added that the agency's methods have changed in recent years.

"Since 2022, the approaches to evaluating the work of the agency's territorial divisions have been fundamentally revised to exclude a race for statistical indicators [...]

We urge public servants to adhere to the principles of professional ethics, honesty, fairness, integrity, and to always act within the law; this way, no difficulties should arise.

As a law enforcement agency, we must exemplify the principle of law and order in society, as well as zero tolerance for corruption," - added Bigaidarov.

It is worth noting that recently, during an extended government meeting, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stated that the government must work more efficiently and eliminate excessive bureaucracy.

"[…] Long approval and decision-making procedures are linked to the unwillingness and fear of public servants to take responsibility. This needs to be addressed directly. What is the issue? Perhaps the anti-corruption agency has overwhelmed everyone? Intimidated and suppressed? Let’s look into this matter. But decisions must be made," - said the president.

Additionally, at the beginning of January, the president commented on the increasing cases of officials being detained. "A systematic fight against corruption is absolutely necessary work; there should be no doubt about this [...] At the same time, I constantly remind the leadership of the anti-corruption agency that it is important to make decisions objectively and not to fall into a campaign mentality. After all, every decision affects people's lives," - he stated.

It is important to note that in the past year, 2024, numerous investigations into major corruption cases related to the embezzlement of budgetary funds were conducted in Kazakhstan. Earlier, we published a compilation of the most high-profile corruption scandals of 2024.

Detentions have continued into this year.

For instance, at the beginning of January, the Anti-Corruption Service reported that officials in charge of ecology in several regions of Kazakhstan are suspected of committing corruption crimes.

Meanwhile, in Astana, employees of the Anti-Corruption Service detained the deputy director general and the head of the department of the Republican State Enterprise "Eңбек" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In the Almaty region, a verdict was issued against the former head of Institution No. 57 of the Penitentiary System and the head of the operational department of Institution No. 12 of the Penitentiary System regarding a bribery case. They were sentenced to 9 and 3 years of imprisonment, respectively.