The Murder of Yerzhan Tatishev
Banker Yerzhan Tatishev died from a gunshot during a hunting trip in 2004. The death was initially handled as negligent killing, but the case was reopened more than a decade later. Muratkhan Tokmadi was convicted of deliberate murder in 2018; a separate Kazakh court later convicted Mukhtar Ablyazov in absentia of organizing the killing, a charge Ablyazov denies.
Yerzhan Tatishev, the head of TuranAlem Bank, was shot and killed during a hunting trip in Kazakhstan's Zhambyl Region in December 2004. Muratkhan Tokmadi, who was with him, initially said the shooting was accidental. The case later changed dramatically: after a 2017 reopening, Tokmadi pleaded guilty to deliberate murder and was sentenced to 10½ years in prison in March 2018.
The 2004 shooting
Tatishev was killed while traveling during a winter hunt. Early proceedings treated the shooting as negligent rather than intentional. Tokmadi was convicted in 2007 of causing death by negligence and received a one-year sentence. For years, that was the official legal outcome.
The case is reopened
In 2017, authorities reopened the case after Tokmadi publicly admitted that the shooting had been deliberate. At the renewed trial, prosecutors presented forensic evidence and testimony intended to show that the shot could not have occurred in the manner previously described as accidental.
Tokmadi pleaded guilty to murdering Tatishev. On March 16, 2018, the specialized criminal court in the Zhambyl Region sentenced him to 10½ years in a maximum-security prison. Reporting on the trial said more than 50 witnesses were heard and that multiple forensic examinations were presented.
The allegation of an organizer
Tokmadi testified that former banker and opposition figure Mukhtar Ablyazov had ordered the killing. Ablyazov denied that allegation and described the prosecution as politically motivated. The distinction matters: Tokmadi's statement was an accusation until tested in separate proceedings.
On November 27, 2018, a court in Taraz convicted Ablyazov in absentia of organizing Tatishev's murder and imposed a life sentence. Ablyazov was not present at that trial and continued to deny the charge. This page reports that judgment as a Kazakh court finding without treating the surrounding political dispute as resolved fact.
Later challenges
Tokmadi later said his admissions had been obtained under coercion and sought reductions in his sentence. Courts continued to treat the 2018 murder conviction as operative. In June 2025, an Alatau City Court rejected another request to reduce his prison term.
Tokmadi is described as convicted because a Kazakh criminal court found him guilty of deliberate murder. Ablyazov is described as convicted in absentia because a separate Kazakh court imposed a life sentence while he was outside the country. His denial and the politically contested nature of the proceedings are stated explicitly rather than omitted.
Timeline
- Tatishev is killed
The banker dies from a gunshot during a hunting trip in Zhambyl Region.
- Negligence conviction
Tokmadi is convicted of causing death by negligence and receives a one-year sentence.
- Case reopened
Authorities reopen the death as a possible deliberate killing after Tokmadi's public admission.
- Tokmadi convicted of murder
The Zhambyl court sentences him to 10½ years in prison.
- Ablyazov convicted in absentia
A Taraz court finds him guilty of organizing the killing and imposes a life sentence; he denies the charge.
- Sentence-reduction request denied
A court rejects another attempt by Tokmadi to reduce his prison term.
Sources and further reading
- RFE/RL — March 16, 2018 report on Tokmadi's murder conviction and sentence
- The Astana Times — trial evidence, prior negligence case and March 2018 sentence
- RFE/RL — November 27, 2018 report on Ablyazov's in-absentia conviction and denial
- Orda — June 13, 2025 report on Tokmadi's unsuccessful sentence-reduction request
Last reviewed: September 4, 2026