Smuggling mafia at “Khorgos”: how the duo of Murat Nurtleu and Gadzhi Gadzhiev turned special services into a personal business structure and became mired in contract killings

A surprising challenger has emerged for Semyon Mogilevich, one of Russia’s most infamous crime bosses, who faces a possible 360-year prison term and is wanted by U.S. authorities. That rival is Kazakh businessman Gadzhi Gadzhiev, also dubbed the "King of Smuggling." Like Mogilevich, he holds multiple passports and is a suspect in many criminal cases.

Businessman Gadzhi Gadzhiev (nicknamed “Nos”), who is linked to controlling cargo flows and smuggling on the Kazakh-Chinese border, is suspected of using several passports at once. Sources cited in investigations by the publication ’Respublika’ reported that Gadzhiev-Nos obtained new documents under different names.

The famous Russian fraudster Semyon Mogilevich (aka Don Simeon), wanted by Interpol with a $5 million reward for information on his whereabouts, possesses more than 17 fake passports. How many fake consignment notes does Gadzhi Gadzhiev have? And why does he need such manipulations?

Gadzhi Shapieviсh Gadzhiev — as described by the media — is an influential businessman who has amassed a multi-million-dollar fortune in Kazakhstan. He is called the “King of Smuggling”: he built a powerful business at the customs checkpoint on the Kazakh-Chinese border, primarily at the infamous International Centre for Cross-Border Cooperation “Khorgos.” He also owns a transport company in the UAE and enjoys strong “protection.”

However, on Gadzhiev’s conscience lies the murder of opposition journalist Aidos Sadykov in Kyiv — an operation for which “Nos” allegedly allocated $3 million. And, of course, there is a separate chapter on his interaction with Russian “smuggling kings,” some of whom wear high-ranking uniforms.

Village friendship

In September 2025, Kazakhstan was in turmoil: it was reported that on September 4, upon returning from the SCO summit in China, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Murat Nurtleu was detained, along with the scandalous businessman Gadzhi Gadzhiev. They had been traveling together in China.

Smuggling mafia at “Khorgos”: how the duo of Murat Nurtleu and Gadzhi Gadzhiev turned security services into a personal business structure and became embroiled in contract killings.

Gadzhi Gadzhiev

Orda reported the detention of Nurtleu, along with several high-ranking officers of the National Security Committee (KNB) of Kazakhstan. Searches were reportedly conducted at both Nurtleu’s and Gadzhiev’s properties.

The publication described Nurtleu as a key figure in Kazakhstan’s power structure and one of the most influential politicians. He previously served as deputy head of the KNB, while Gadzhi Gadzhiev, known as a businessman, worked as a non-staff employee of the security service at the same time.

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Murat Nurtleu began his career in the late 1990s at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan. He held various positions in the ministry, moved to the Senate in 2007, returned to the MFA in 2011, and served as ambassador to Estonia and Finland from 2016 to 2019. He also worked at Kazakhstan’s mission in Geneva. From 2019 to 2021 he was an assistant to the President of Kazakhstan. In 2022, he became First Deputy Head of the KNB, later heading the Presidential Administration. Since April 2023, he has served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

All these years, his childhood friend Gadzhi Gadzhiev has remained closely by his side.

The star of Murat Nurtleu rose sharply in 2019 after Kassym-Jomart Tokayev became President of Kazakhstan. On January 5, 2022, Tokayev appointed Nurtleu as deputy chairman of the KNB — at a time when the committee’s top leadership had effectively betrayed the president.

Gadzhiev and Nurtleu have known each other since deep childhood. Gadzhi Gadzhiev grew up in the village of Chundzha in the Uygur district of Almaty region — the same village from which Murat Nurtleu’s family originates.

Both are fathers of large families — Nurtleu has four children, Gadzhiev has five. Gadzhiev’s wife is the well-known media manager Raushan Kazhibaeva.

“Crutch” from Murat’s friend

The development of Gadzhiev’s multifaceted business strangely coincided with the rise of his childhood friend Murat Nurtleu’s political career.

Since the late 2010s, Gadzhi Gadzhiev has owned SA Construction Group and previously held managerial positions in a construction company linked to oligarch Patokh Shodiev. He chaired the supervisory board of the construction concern “Naiza-Kurylys” and, since 2017, participated in major infrastructure projects through the companies “Zhol Zhondeushi” and SA Construction Group.

SA Construction Group took part in building the Southern Tengiz rotational camp and facilities in the special economic zone “Khorgos — Eastern Gate.”

Gadzhiev also owns a transport company in the UAE and holds shares in various commercial and transport enterprises in Central Asia.

Pro-government Kazakh media portray him as a philanthropist and organizer of sports tournaments. Independent media, however, present him as the subject of investigations into the illegal redistribution of influence at the border and in security structures. He is also known for filing lawsuits against independent investigative journalists.

Gray cardinal

The year 2022 was particularly notable in the biographies of both the scandalous politician Nurtleu and the scandalous businessman Gadzhiev.

In 2022, Murat Nurtleu became deputy chairman of the National Security Committee but held the post for less than a month. That was enough for him to establish strong connections within the agency and help his friend Gadzhiev “take root” in the KNB as well. It was Nurtleu who brought Gadzhiev into the committee as a non-staff employee.

With strong support from Murat Nurtleu, Gadzhiev created a parallel structure within the KNB — a “shadow KNB.” It consisted of committee employees who served the interests not of the state, but of Murat Nurtleu (who from February 1, 2022, headed the Presidential Administration). In April 2023, Nurtleu took over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Some political analysts even rank Murat Nurtleu as the top possible successor to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

Murder of journalist Sadykov

Thanks to his childhood friend Nurtleu, Gadzhi Gadzhiev gained control over the Chinese border, primarily the International Centre for Cross-Border Cooperation “Khorgos.”

Gadzhiev and his team control illegal supplies of goods from China to Kazakhstan and onward to Russia, with the main channel being the Khorgos border crossing.

In 2024, he even gave a “lecture” to KNB leadership, claiming that a conspiracy against President Tokayev was brewing and naming certain politicians and businessmen.

In the same year, opposition Kazakh journalist Aidos Sadykov, founder of the “Base” channel, was murdered in Kyiv. Sadykov had moved to the Ukrainian capital with his family.

Aidos Sadykov was shot in central Kyiv after his channel aired a video about Gadzhi Gadzhiev’s activities. The “shadow” KNB created by Gadzhiev had a direct connection to the murder. Gadzhiev first sent people to Kyiv to offer Sadykov $5,000 to delete the video. The journalist refused and made the attempt public.

Gadzhiev then recruited two former security officers — Altai Zhakanbaev and Meyram Karataev — to carry out the killing. On June 18, they waited for the journalist near his home. Karataev opened fire as Sadykov drove into the courtyard. The journalist died in hospital.

Two months later, media reports claimed Gadzhiev had been arrested, but the case was effectively shelved. Gadzhiev soon reappeared in public, including among high-ranking officials.

Links with criminals

In recent times, Gadzhi Gadzhiev has more than doubled the number of companies involved in customs clearance and cross-border transportation. According to media reports, more than 60 companies work for “Nos’s” smuggling network. The volume of the shadow flow has grown sharply, especially in electronics and goods for the Russian military-industrial complex, which do not appear in official statistics of China, Kazakhstan, or Russia.

Gadzhiev’s smuggling business became even more profitable after adding a military component — supplies of dual-use goods. This is a new scheme for delivering goods from China through Kazakhstan to Russia and Iran (parallel import of sanctioned and special goods). Under KNB “cover,” Gadzhiev channels smuggling through Tehran.

Today, Gadzhiev controls the channel for special goods: weapons, equipment, and spare parts. He can still promote “his” people in security structures, appoint “overseers,” and place criminals at border crossings.

For example, in Mangystau region, influence is held by a certain “Aliba” — a member of the “Alibovskie” criminal group, also known as Alibek Narbekov (born 1988).

Narbekov, previously convicted of raiding, controls gray financial flows through Khorgos and influences appointments and dismissals of regional akims and security officials. The “overseer” at the Dostyk customs post is Askhat Karimov (aka Sygyr), who has a criminal record for drug offenses.

In Astana, a certain Yevgeny Lotarev (nicknamed “Lev”) holds sway.

However, recent rumors suggest that Gadzhi Gadzhiev has been denied access to high offices and has lost the trust of influential people in the Akorda.

The key role in distancing him is reportedly played by the new head of the Presidential Administration, Olzhas Bektanov, a professional security officer who refused to associate with a figure implicated in the murder of a journalist.

What about his childhood friend Murat Nurtleu?

Apparently, the events of last autumn shook the Deputy Prime Minister so badly that he decided it was no longer worth risking himself to protect his friend “Nos.” As the saying goes — it’s no longer about getting fat, it’s about staying alive.