Individual Corruption

Corruption within the police force remains a serious problem in Kazakhstan, and public considers the police to be among the most corrupt public institutions in the country, according to the US Department of State 2011 and the US Department of State 2010.

Kazakhstan's traffic police are particularly notorious for bribe-taking. According to the Bertelsmann Foundation 2010, in the early 2009, an anti-corruption policy was adopted by the Kazakhstani government, which includes an almost 300% boost in salaries for traffic police. Nonetheless, according to a poll released by the Crime Statistics Committee under the General Prosecutor's Office, a substantial part of the population did not believe that the government can protect them from infringements of their civil rights, especially infringements by the police, as cited in the US Department of State 2009. According to the US Department of State 2010, citizens filed more than 13,000 complaints about police corruption and abuse of office in 2010.

Business Corruption

In the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011 companies report that the Kazakhstani police cannot be consistently relied upon to enforce law and order in the country. This is corroborated by the World Bank & IFC Enterprise Surveys 2009, which reveals that well over half of the surveyed companies pay for security in Kazakhstan, while a smaller part identifies crime, theft and disorder as major constraints to doing business in the country.

Foreign companies operating in Kazakhstan frequently report harassment by the Financial Police in the form of unannounced inspections and other methods, according to the US Department of State 2011. Law enforcement agencies have occasionally intimidated foreign investors perceived to be uncooperative with the government.

Political Corruption

According to Global Integrity 2010, Kazakhstani law enforcement agencies are not protected from political interference. Likewise, appointments to the police are often based on non-professional criteria, and party loyalties or personal relationships are often considered. Moreover, law enforcement officials, most often high-level figures, enjoy some protection from criminal investigations in practice. 

In 2009, the former Deputy Defence Minister, Kazhimurat Mayermanov, faced trial over the acquisition of military hardware that was found to be defective, as reported in a July 2009 article by Eurasianet. According to the source, Mayermanov was charged with abuse of office in relation to defence contracts with two Israeli companies, Israeli Military Industries and Soltam Systems, to purchase artillery systems that were later found to be experimental rather than working models, resulting in a USD 82 million loss to the state. In February 2010, Mayermanov was sentenced to 11 years in prison on charges of corruption and abuse of office, according to the US Department of State 2010.

According to the same report, authorities dismissed 61 law enforcement officers on charges of corruption during 2010.

Frequency

World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011:
- Business executives give the reliability of the Kazakhstani police services to enforce law and order a score of 3.3 on a 7-point scale (1 'cannot be relied upon at all' and 7 'can always be relied upon').

The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2009:
- Nearly 58% of companies surveyed pay for security in Kazakhstan.

- Over 41% of companies surveyed identify crime, theft and disorder as a major constraint on doing business.

Global Integrity: Kazakhstan Country Report 2007:
- 55% of road police admitted they take part in corruption.