Dinara is the Head of the Tax and Legal Services Practice for Kazakhstan and Central Asia and is based in Almaty. She has nearly 30 years of legal practice experience, including advising on tax disputes and providing comprehensive legal services to a broad range of clients.

Dinara has been with EY Kazakhstan since 2000 and is the founder of the firm’s legal practice in Kazakhstan. Over the years, she has played a key role in the establishment and development of the firm’s legal services offering.
Dinara has extensive experience participating in business initiatives aimed at amending tax, civil, and criminal legislation in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. She has also successfully represented major international and Kazakh companies before state authorities and courts in tax and customs disputes.

During her tenure at the firm, Dinara has significantly expanded the scope of legal services provided by EY Kazakhstan—from supporting company formation and day‑to‑day operations to representing clients in multi‑million‑dollar tax and customs disputes, as well as advising on M&A transactions and assisting with the negotiation of investment agreements with governments.

• Al‑Farabi Kazakh State University — LL.M. in Law
• University of London — LL.M. in Law

Tax & Law Services Leader for Kazakhstan and Central Asia

Ernst & Young Kazakhstan LLP — Full-time

July 2018 – Present
Almaty, Kazakhstan

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

ArborV LLP

February 2017 – Present

Almaty, Kazakhstan

Head of Law, Partner

July 2011 – July 2016
Almaty, Kazakhstan

Senior Associate

August 2004 – July 2011
Kazakhstan

Lawyer

August 2002 – August 2004
Moscow, Russia

Lawyer

Andersen Kazakhstan

November 2000 – May 2002
Almaty, Kazakhstan

Paralegal

Baker & McKenzie

September 1997 – August 1999
Almaty, Kazakhstan"

1. Extensive experience advising international and local companies on complex investment projects across Central Asia.
2. Led numerous legal due diligence projects assessing corporate, regulatory and licensing compliance for clients across multiple sectors.
3. Provided full legal support for the acquisition of a major building materials and coatings manufacturing group in Kazakhstan and Central Asia — a transaction recognized as the 2023 Deal of the Year by the Kazakhstan Growth Forum.
4. Led the legal pre‑sale diagnostics for subsidiaries of one of Kazakhstan’s largest national companies as part of their transition to a competitive environment.
5. Supervised extensive compliance reviews across Central Asia, covering corporate licensing, currency regulation requirements, and advising on the elimination of identified regulatory risks.
6. Led a project providing comprehensive legal support for the market entry of the largest marketplace in Kazakhstan, including structuring of their local operations.
7. Provided customs and tax advisory services on planning and structuring import and export operations, including drafting and reviewing foreign trade agreements for compliance with the legislation of Central Asian countries.
8. Successful experience in supporting and challenging the results of customs audits related to the inclusion of dividends in the customs value, including a successful court challenge at both first-instance and appellate levels regarding the inclusion of dividends in the customs value of imported goods from a related party, and the establishment of favorable legal practice on this matter.
9. Legal support to clients in providing a comprehensive legal overview of key restrictions (blockers) in the current legislation related to the development of cloud services in Central Asia.
10. Dinara led projects related to analyzing antimonopoly regulation legislation in Central Asia from the perspective of protecting the interests of the pharmaceutical industry, including reviewing internal company policies to ensure compliance with applicable legislation.
11. Dinara led a project providing legal support to an international pharmaceutical company on various intellectual property (IP)-related matters, including an analysis of Kazakhstan's legislation pertaining to IP protection within the pharmaceutical industry, incorporating insights from international experiences.
12. Successfully defended the interests of a major consumer goods distributor in first‑instance and appellate courts in a dispute with the tax authorities, resulting in the cancellation of tax audit findings and savings of approximately USD 20 million.
13. Successfully defended the interests of the world’s largest uranium mining company in court against the tax authorities, achieving savings of more than USD 16 million.
14. Represented a Chinese energy construction company in acquiring a 75% participatory interest in a joint venture for the construction of wind energy installations in Kazakhstan.
15. Successfully developed a legal and regulatory framework for a new digital technologies regulatory zone by conducting legislative analysis, identifying regulatory constraints and barriers, and preparing recommendations aimed at creating a favorable regime to enhance its investment attractiveness.