Sayat Zholshy & Partners

Aidos Kussainov is an Of Counsel. He supervises all projects on obtaining and maintenance of foreign employment permits.  He supports and represents clients in their relations with government authorities, including the issuance of licenses for various types of activities, permits and opinions.  He represented a number of major oil and service companies in connection with numerous audits conducted by government authorities.

Aidyn Bikebayev is a senior partner and founder of Sayat Zholshy & Partners.  In 2010-2020, Aidyn was recommended by Who’s Who Legal: CIS, a reputable international rating agency, as a distinguished expert in Kazakhstan Antitrust (Competition) Law. Aidyn Bikebayev is the author of a monograph on antitrust law titled “Antitrust Law and Policy in the Republic of Kazakhstan”.

Amir Begdesenov is a Partner in Sayat Zholshy & Partners. He is a highly recommended lawyer in the area of antitrust and intellectual property law who provides a full range of specialised services to our clients, including legal advice, trademark registration, extrajudicial and judicial settlement of disputes (including support through audits and inspections conducted by justice, economic investigation and antitrust authorities, and advocacy), and economic concentration approvals. Amir regularly writes articles and makes presentations on intellectual property and antitrust issues at various conferences and forums. Amir’s clientele includes national and international companies operating in various sectors of economy, including tobacco, non-alcoholic beverages production, healthcare, TMT, power, etc. Amir is a co-chairman of the Committee for Antitrust (Competition) Law Issues of the Kazakhstan Bar Association (KazBar), a public association of commercial lawyers.  He is also a member of the Council for Protection of Competition of the Kazakhstan National Chamber of Entrepreneurs, a board member of the Antitrust Alliance.

Arman Berdalin is a head of the Nur-Sultan Sayat Zholshy & Partners office. As a head of the Nur-Sultan Sayat Zholshy & Partners office Arman maintains ongoing contact with quasi-government companies.  In this sector, Sayat Zholshy & Partners contributed to such projects as out-reach to shareholders of second-tier banks (BTA, Alliance Bank and Temirbank), acquisition of shares in mining companies, and restructuring of national companies.  Arman also managed the project for legal support of newly established Kazakhstan Integrated Centre for Coordination of Special Economic Zones. Arman is also experienced in dealing with international development institutions.  Over three years, Arman represented Sayat Zholshy & Partners in an IFC project (World Bank Group member) aimed to improve corporate governance in Kazakhstan.  Moreover, Arman led an Sayat Zholshy & Partners project for provision of services to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in an effort to review and reform Kazakhstan joint stock companies legislation. Arman is not only a renowned lawyer – he is also a social activist.  For example, he successfully initiated, together with other leading Kazakhstan lawyers, a public association of Kazakhstan commercial lawyers –Kazakhstan Bar Association (KazBar) – which is the only professional association of lawyers in Kazakhstan admitted to the International Bar Association.  KazBar is gaining wide recognition in the legal community and is successfully cooperating with the Ministry of Justice, General Prosecutor’s Office and Supreme Court.  As one of the key contributors to such cooperation and as a member of the KazBar Management Board, Arman has been admitted to the Interdepartmental Law-drafting Commission of the Kazakhstan Government.  In this role Arman is actively involved in consideration of new law concepts and development of law-drafting plans. Summarising the above, we can conclude that Arman has been coordinating the Firm’s efforts to forge relationships with development institutions (IFC, EBRD), government authorities (National Bank and sector-specific ministries), quasi-government sector (Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund JSC, Baiterek National Management Holding JSC, KazAgro National Management Holding JSC), National Chamber of Entrepreneurs, Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, Association of Kazakhstan Financiers and second-tier banks. Arman regularly makes presentations at conferences both inside and outside Kazakhstan, and conducts seminars and workshops on the most pressing legal and practical issues (e.g. Samruk-Kazyna Corporate University, Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research).  Arman also gives open and in-house seminars for such major market players as Philip Morris Kazakhstan, KazMunayGas and other. Arman is also an Adjunct professor of KAZGUU University.

Of Counsel and Attorney at Law

Dmitriy is a partner and long-standing member of Sayat Zholshy & Partners. Dmitriy has extensive experience in providing legal support to major trading, manufacturing and service companies operating in construction, oil & gas, agriculture, healthcare, mechanical engineering and research & development sectors in relation to various matters, including corporate reorganisation and restructuring. Dmitriy has been actively involved in law making.  He contributed to the drafting of 29 laws and over 150 regulations adopted by the Kazakhstan Government and Ministries. In 2013, Dmitriy, on assignment from the World Bank and Kazakhstan Ministry of Regional Development, took lead with a full-scale project on drafting a new Kazakhstan law concerning permits and notices turning Sayat Zholsy & Partners (a mere provider of licensing services) into, in a sense, an ideologist of the Kazakhstan licensing and approval regulations. Dmitriy used to lead the legal working group engaged in the establishment of KazAgro National Holding.  He was also involved in the procedures for liquidation of second-tier banks.  He regularly supervised projects for representation of clients in courts of all instances in connection with various disputes, including, but not limited to, corporate disputes (management issues), debt collections, transaction contests and labour disputes.  Dmitriy used to lead legal work connected with municipal development projects (parking lot arrangements, urban solid waste sorting and disposal, etc.).  He successfully performed the functions of a member of the boards of directors of a major nonbank agricultural credit institution and of a municipal housing company.

Gulmira Abenova, Attorney-at-Law, of Counsel in Sayat Zholshy & Partners Within her key areas of practice Gulmira advised major manufacturing and trading companies, tobacco producers and mining enterprises with regard to their operations/products/processes compliance with the applicable Kazakhstan technical regulations. Gulmira also supported numerous projects which involved comprehensive legal due diligence of targets for identification of minimal documentation requirements under Kazakhstan technical regulations. On many occasions Gulmira assisted our clients in obtaining documents required for production and distribution of final products in the EurAsEC market in compliance with the applicable technical regulations. Gulmira was also engaged on a number of housing and utilities projects, for example, she provided legal support to a major Kazakhstan investment company with regard to the development, construction and operation of fee-based municipal parking facilities in Almaty, including the construction and operation of multilevel car-parks.  Therefore, Gulmira represented the Client in their negotiations with local executive authorities. Besides, Gulmira provided legal support to a Client in connection with the development of a municipal solid waste recycling system in Almaty.  Under this Project Gulmira advised the Client on numerous issues arising from the implementation of an integrated solid waste management system in Almaty through a public-private partnership.  Gulmira has practical experience in drafting and promoting housing and utilities regulatory acts on behalf of local executive and representative authorities. Gulmira also has extensive experience in drafting and legal review of various civil law contracts, preparation of legal opinions on all sorts of topics, including clarification of labour, corporate, land, licensing, procurement, real estate and construction legislative provisions, and support of various transactions connected with the disposal of interests in LLPs and shares in JSCs.  Gulmira represents clients in courts and defends clients’ interests in civil litigation proceedings. Gulmira has substantial experience in settling family disputes and handling divorce cases.  In this area of practice she advised many of our clients on the issues arising from prenuptial arrangements and division of property between spouses.  She was also involved in the definition of strategies and behaviours in the course of divorce (division of property) proceedings and the resolution of disputes over parental rights and duties in a marital dissolution.

Rustam Ospanov is a Senior Partner in Sayat Zholshy & Partners.  The tax practice of the Firm headed by Rustam Ospanov was justly recognized the best in Kazakhstan in 2009-2012. The team lead by Rustam advises numerous clients on tax issues and successfully protects the rights and interests of taxpayers in administrative and court proceedings. Rustam acted as a legal counsel in the liquidation procedures of a major Kazakhstan bank and a number of large companies in the phosphor and power sectors. Rustam has an extensive experience in structuring and performance of M&A transactions in compliance with tax, corporate and antitrust laws. On numerous occasions Rustam performed the due diligence of major Kazakhstan companies with regard to potential legal risks associated with business acquisition. He designed and implemented transactions for purchase of large-scale facilities in the power and gas transportation sectors and for reorganisation of individual entities and holdings. Rustam also handled cases on protection of clients’ (natural monopolies, dominants and other market players) interests in their relations with antitrust and fiscal authorities with regard to challenging and reversal of the decisions and acts issued by the above-mentioned authorities and officers.

Senior Partner, Mr. Vitaliy Vodolazkin regularly participates in important large-scale Kazakhstan court proceedings at all levels, including representation of phosphorous producers, subsoil users, food manufacturers and other clients mainly with regard to unreasonable tax assessments, debt collections, protection of shareholders’ interests, invalidation of various transactions, appeal against actions/omissions of government authorities, etc.  The Litigation practice led by Vitaliy for over 13 years is distinguished by international legal guides as the Kazakhstan leader in this area.  Apart from Dispute Resolution, Vitaliy is actively involved in supporting projects implemented by financial institutions.  Moreover, he has extensive experience in supporting major companies operating in food, agricultural, power, education and financial sectors.

Yelena Tyureikina is a Partner in Sayat Zholshy & Partners. Yelena has extensive legal experience spanning over 22 years, including 12 years in Sayat Zholshy & Partners, and specializes in tax and corporate laws. Yelena’s tax practice is broad-based and encompasses advice on various taxation issues, corporate tax planning, pre-assessment of transactions with regard to tax implications, consulting on transaction structuring in terms of tax optimisation (including foreign jurisdictions), legal support of clients in connection with tax audits and challenging of audit procedures and/or findings in higher-level tax authorities, and successful representation of clients in courts in connection with tax disputes.