A corruption scandal is unfolding in Kazakhstan involving the charity fund Biz Birgemiz Qazaqstan. On November 4, Perizat Kairat, the leader and public face of the organization, was detained in Astana and later arrested. She is suspected of embezzling 1.7 billion tenge ($3.4 million) donated to support flood victims in Kazakhstan and Palestinians. Investigators allege that the majority of the funds were spent on Kairat’s lavish lifestyle.
Episode One
Last spring, Kazakhstan was struck by the most severe floods in decades, submerging several regions, including West Kazakhstan, Aktobe, Kostanay, Abai, Akmola, and Ulytau. Thousands of residents were evacuated to temporary shelters, and many flooded homes became uninhabitable. Recovery efforts by authorities lasted until late summer. During this time, the Biz Birgemiz Qazaqstan fund launched a large-scale fundraising campaign for the victims.
Prominent Kazakhstani financial institutions such as the Astana Hub tech park and Kaspi.kz technology company joined the campaign. Through the «Charity» section in the Kaspi.kz mobile app, anyone could donate to Kairat’s fund up until her arrest. Influential bloggers, including Asel Sadvakasova, Nursultan and Ajara Magzumov, Arman Yusupov, Karina Oksukpaeva, Madina Mamadalieva (Madlen), Natalia Sinyak, and Moldir Yesembek (Say Mo), encouraged their followers to contribute to Biz Birgemiz Qazaqstan.
Kairat personally delivered humanitarian aid to affected regions and publicly criticized government officials for their inaction on her social media platforms, even urging President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to cancel his overseas trips and visit the disaster zone in person. These posts were later deleted.
The campaign was so extensive that the fund raised 2 billion tenge ($4 million). However, investigators claim that Kairat used the bulk of the donations to purchase luxury items and real estate. This spring, she allegedly bought several luxury cars, including a Mercedes-Benz S450 for 88 million tenge ($178,000), a Lexus LX-600 for 80 million tenge ($162,000), and a Haval for 39 million tenge ($79,000). During the same period, she reportedly acquired high-end properties in Astana, including apartments in Akbulak Riviera, Highvill Ishim Gold, Kök Zhailau, and a villa in the gated community of Vela Village, collectively worth 600 million tenge ($1.2 million).
The Agency for Financial Monitoring alleges that Kairat used funds from concerned citizens to travel to Dubai, Doha, London, and Istanbul, staying in five-star hotels, purchasing expensive jewelry and branded clothing, dining in upscale restaurants, and enjoying yacht excursions.
“She involved close friends and relatives in her scheme, who cashed out the fund's money for an 8% commission,” investigators said, though they did not specify who these individuals were or whether they face charges. According to ORDA.kz, a list of businessmen who may have laundered money through the fund during the disaster has surfaced.
“If the floods hadn’t happened, they would have fabricated them. They just needed a pretext. Helping Kazakhstani citizens was never the intention. A small portion might have gone to the victims, but no more,” a source said, suggesting that Kairat might not be the central figure in the investigation of the fund’s activities.
Episode Two
After Kairat’s arrest, she faced additional accusations. The Agency for Financial Monitoring claims she also embezzled funds collected for humanitarian aid to Palestinians. The fundraiser was organized in November 2023. In December, Kairat allegedly used these funds to purchase a three-bedroom apartment in the luxury Sensata Plaza complex for 49 million tenge ($98,000) and a new Mercedes-Benz EQE 500 4 Matic for 30 million tenge ($60,000). Some of the money was reportedly spent in the UAE on jewelry, watches, and clothing from luxury brands such as Rolex, Prada, and Fendi.
The Biz Birgemiz Qazaqstan website states that the fund provided 300 million tenge (just over $600,000) in aid to Palestinians. Like during the floods, Kairat visited the affected areas and actively shared photos of trucks carrying humanitarian aid on social media. In March, her Instagram stories featured a photo of loaves of bread purportedly sent to Gaza by her fund. However, it was later revealed that the image was originally taken by Russian activist Margo Guseinova and her Kazakhstani sister Rano.
Screenshots from the social media of Perizat Kairat and Margo Guseinova
“Yes, it’s true. Perizat used our report as her own, covering up the data of our project with text,” Guseinova wrote in response to the situation. “She contacted me personally after someone exposed her actions. Perizat tried to explain herself, but I made it clear that it was pointless. I might have believed her sincerity if she hadn’t covered up the names of our projects and added the phrase, ‘They safely departed by special flight this morning.’ I simply asked her, ‘Where did our flatbreads go, the ones already eaten by Palestinians?’ I then requested that she delete our reports from Gaza. She tried to justify herself but eventually deleted everything. Since it was the holy month, I forgave her for the sake of the Almighty, leaving her actions to His judgment.”
Unfulfilled Promises
It is possible that more episodes will emerge in the case against one of the country's most publicized volunteers. The Agency for Financial Monitoring has urged those affected by Perizat Kairat’s fraudulent actions to contact them at +7 (7172) 70-33-89, extension 21384.
In the fall of 2022, a video surfaced on Instagram (banned in Russia and owned by Meta, which is recognized as extremist in Russia) showing a woman from Astana driving a taxi with an infant. Concerned Kazakhstanis raised nearly 2 million tenge ($4,000) for her. At the time, Perizat Kairat reached out to the woman, Asel, visited her home, and promised to gift her an apartment, handing her a certificate, according to Tengrinews.kz.
Perizat Kairat hands over a certificate for an apartment. Photo from Tengrinews.kz
However, two years later, Asel has yet to receive the promised apartment. She and her children continue to live in a dormitory in southeastern Astana. “When I arrived at the location, it turned out there was no house, just a fenced plot of land,” she told reporters. “Perizat Kairat asked me not to worry, assuring me she would resolve everything. A year has passed since then. She keeps asking me to wait a little longer.”
Another incident that could interest investigators was shared by television host Dinara Satzhan. “Three years ago, Perizat Kairat asked me to host a charity evening in Astana. She also requested I auction off an outfit from my showroom and invite Bayan and Aida (producer Bayan Alaguzova and designer Aida Kaumenova — ed.). The primary goal of the event was to raise funds for constructing a rehabilitation center for special-needs children in the capital. Naturally, we agreed. Even representatives of the Nur Otan party (now AMANAT) were present. This led many to mistakenly believe that the Biz Birgemiz fund was associated with the party. Later, whenever we crossed paths in the city, I would ask about the center’s construction, but Perizat would only respond, ‘Yes, we are addressing the issue,’” Satzhan wrote.
No information about the construction of a rehabilitation center in Astana could be found on the Biz Birgemiz Qazaqstan website. However, the site does mention a charity evening held in November 2021, during which 48 million tenge ($96,000) was raised.
The website contains little information about the fund’s activities, lacks reports, and is filled with stock photos from Freepik. Nevertheless, Perizat Kairat, about whom little is known, managed to collect and handle enormous sums of money, and here’s why.
Sleight of Hand, Without Fraud—Officially
For several years now, the phrase Biz Birgemiz (“We Are Together”) has been familiar in Kazakhstan. It is the name of a popular charitable crowdfunding platform created by Halyk Bank. Under the slogan Biz Birgemiz, the country navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. The phrase was used to rally citizens for volunteer work. Additionally, several charitable foundations in Kazakhstan share the name. One of them, established in 2020 by the initiative of the first president Nursultan Nazarbayev, aimed to support vulnerable populations and healthcare workers combating COVID-19. It had a board of trustees chaired by then-first deputy head of the ruling Nur Otan party (now AMANAT), Bauyrzhan Baibek, and regularly reported on the distribution of funds.
The Biz Birgemiz Qazaqstan website, run by Perizat Kairat, features a section titled “What the Media Writes About Us,” which includes articles on the work of its near-namesake, the Biz Birgemiz fund established by Nazarbayev. This creates the impression that the two organizations are the same, but they are not.
The Biz Birgemiz Qazaqstan website briefly states that the fund was established on June 3, 2021, as a nationwide volunteer movement. More intriguing, however, are its legal details, publicly available in open sources. Unlike a traditional fund, Biz Birgemiz Qazaqstan is registered as a public association.
Under Kazakh law, a fund is required to have a board of trustees, undergo financial audits, and publish annual reports. Public associations are not subject to these requirements.
In addition to Perizat Kairat, Biz Birgemiz Qazaqstan has nine other founders. The website Ratel.kz noted that three of them—Arslanbek Magzum, Aigerim Serikzhanova, and Ayan Khafiz—are affiliated with the youth wing Zhasstar Rukhy of the ruling AMANAT party. Another founder, Sergey Matyushenko, heads a district branch of the party in the capital.
However, AMANAT quickly distanced itself from any connection with the fund. “We find it necessary to clarify that the party is not a founder of the Biz Birgemiz fund and has no involvement in its activities,” its press service stated.
MP Yelnur Beisenbayev confirmed to journalists in the Majilis (lower house of parliament) that Perizat Kairat is acquainted with some AMANAT members but has no ties to the party. “I know there has been information in the media suggesting these people [the fund’s founders—ed.] are associated with the party. Yes, they are AMANAT members, including Arstanbek Magzumov and Sergey Matyushenko. But in 2021, they were activists and volunteers. They had the idea to create a community that would develop volunteer activities,” Beisenbayev said, emphasizing that the party should not be held accountable for the fund’s financial misconduct.
Screenshot from Perizat Kairat’s social media
The Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) also distanced itself from Perizat Kairat, despite photos on social media suggesting that her foundation’s humanitarian aid was delivered to flood-stricken areas using the ministry’s planes. “At the time, we couldn’t discern who was acting sincerely and who wasn’t. Our task was to deliver humanitarian aid to affected regions, and that’s what we did, without delving into the specifics. I don’t recall granting her access anywhere. But the fact remains: the humanitarian aid was delivered on time,” said MES head Chingis Arinov.
Perizat Kairat was detained amid heated discussions about proposed amendments to Kazakhstan’s 2015 law on charity. The amendments aim to “improve” the existing legislation by introducing state accreditation for charitable organizations and penalties for misappropriating funds. However, the most controversial proposal seeks to prohibit individuals from launching fundraising campaigns. Proponents of the amendments argue that such measures are necessary to combat fraud.
The case of Perizat Kairat has been used as an example of how, in the absence of proper oversight, one person can tarnish the reputation of the entire charitable sector. Yet, more pressing questions remain unanswered: How did law enforcement agencies fail to notice the embezzlement of millions of dollars happening right under their noses? Why did Perizat Kairat acquire so much luxury real estate? And how could she be so confident in her impunity?
