A court in Atyrau has sentenced a 38-year-old man to life in prison for the killing of Bibigul Shpanova, a senior manager at the North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), which develops Kashagan, Kazakhstan’s largest oil field located on the Caspian shelf.
What happened
On April 29, 2025, Shpanova, 46, was killed in her apartment at the French Quarter residential complex in Atyrau. She was the head of development planning department at NCOC and had worked in the oil and gas sector for over 20 years. The suspect, a plumber who serviced her building, was arrested soon after the crime.
Case details
Court documents show that in 2022, Shpanova purchased an apartment in Atyrau, where she met the plumber. Gaining her trust, he persuaded her to pay him 400,000 tenge (approximately $650) for help in buying a parking space at a discounted rate. Instead, he embezzled the money.
After Shpanova told him she was pregnant and refused to wait any longer, the plumber — intoxicated and pretending to resolve the dispute — went to her home. There, masked and armed with a knife, he assaulted and killed her.
He then searched the apartment, pried open a safe, and stole cash, jewelry, a car and a phone. Authorities estimated the total losses at more than $28,000.
The verdict
The court found the defendant guilty on all charges and sentenced him to life imprisonment. He was also ordered to pay compensation for moral and material damages.
The verdict has not yet taken legal effect.
