The $300K surprise: Bishkek resident faces massive Kazakh tax debt

Dastan Bekeshev, a member of Kyrgyzstan’s parliament, described a case in which a Kyrgyz citizen discovered several companies in Kazakhstan registered in her name with multimillion-dollar debts, 24.kg reported.

According to Bekeshev, the case involves Zarina Rakhmatova, a podiatrist from Bishkek. In late April, she traveled to Almaty, where she encountered unexpected issues while crossing the border.

Border guards allowed Rakhmatova to enter Kazakhstan but informed her that a so-called «red flag» appeared in the database, the lawmaker said.

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Rakhmatova later discovered that four limited liability partnerships had been registered in her name in Kazakhstan. The companies, registered in different regions of Kazakhstan, reportedly owed the state nearly $300,000, including unpaid recycling fees.

Bekeshev said the woman began investigating the situation on her own and learned that the companies may have been registered using a power of attorney or someone else’s personal information.

Rakhmatova subsequently contacted several government agencies in Kazakhstan, as well as Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Prosecutor General’s Office and law enforcement agencies.

Bekeshev said similar schemes had surfaced before.

According to the lawmaker, criminals in Kyrgyzstan previously registered companies in the names of socially vulnerable people, including blind citizens. Those companies later accumulated debts, while the nominal owners learned about the liabilities only afterward.

The MP also urged Kyrgyz citizens who frequently travel to Kazakhstan to periodically check whether companies or other business activities have been registered in their names without their knowledge.