Almaty · Kazakhstan · Central Asia
Rustam Mirzabayev
Expert in security, investigations and risk management
Helping you see threats earlier, understand the real risks and make decisions with your eyes open.
- Law enforcement
- Investigations
- Corporate security
- Risk management
- International consulting
35+ years of practice
Experience that can be checked
- 35+years in the profession — since 1990
- 17years of service in law enforcement
- 12years of corporate security in major groups
- 8sectors in the Qalqan professional community
- Police lieutenant colonel (retired)
- Head of department, Organised Crime Directorate, Almaty
- Owner of Bureau RM LLP
- Chairman, Security Experts Qalqan
- Partner for Central Asia, JOI Consulting Group
- Lead expert, KTK documentary series “It Happened…”
- Author of the Mental Shield programme
This site publishes only what official sources and documents support. Nothing has been added for effect.
Who this is
Thirty-five years in one field, seen from every side
First came field work on the most serious crimes: contract killings, extortion, kidnappings and hostage-taking. You cannot misjudge a person there, and you cannot work on instinct. That is where the habit of verifying rather than believing comes from.
Then twelve years inside business: security functions for a supermarket chain, two banks, a telecoms operator and a manufacturing plant. A different side of the table and different risks — internal fraud, leaks, shareholder conflicts, questionable counterparties.
Since 2015, an independent practice: Bureau RM. Since 2018, the Qalqan professional community. Since 2025, Partner for Central Asia at the international firm JOI Consulting Group. And alongside all of it, Mental Shield — an attempt to translate the same toolkit into language anyone can use.
«When a difficult situation arises, first understand what is actually happening. Then identify the real risks. Only then choose the instrument.»
Thirty-six years on a single scale
The periods did not simply follow one another: the practice, the association and the international consulting run in parallel.
What people bring
The cases that usually arrive
Almost word for word as clients put them. If you recognise your situation, the conversation will be a concrete one.
- “I think we are being stolen from, but there is no proof.”
- “We are entering a deal with a partner we do not know — what is actually known about them?”
- “A key employee left for a competitor and seems to have taken the database.”
- “A senior manager has been threatened. What do we do right now?”
- “We are hiring a CFO and need a check before the contract is signed.”
- “My co-investor sounds convincing. I want an independent view.”
- “A relative wired money to fraudsters. Is there any chance?”
- “Our staff keep falling for social engineering.”
Expertise matrix
Problem → expertise → what we do
Not a list of services, but a way to find yourself in the table and understand what is being discussed.
Practice areas
How I can help
Six areas instead of a long service list. Each one states who it is for, what it includes, how it runs and where the boundaries are.
Business security
Corporate and economic security, investigations, forensics, counterparty checks and transaction support.
Read morePeople & HR SecurityPeople and HR security
Candidate and staff screening, behavioural analysis, internal investigations, anti-fraud.
Read moreInformation & Cyber SecurityInformation security
Information security audit, consulting, preparation for ISO/IEC 27001 certification.
Read moreRisk ManagementRisk management
Risk assessment, independent review of decisions, crisis support.
Read moreLegal & Investigative SupportLegal and investigative support
Support for lawyers, witness identification, gathering and structuring information, debt recovery work.
Read morePrivate SecurityPrivate security
Confidential advice for individuals, locating people, protecting personal information.
Read moreAudiences
One expert, many entry points
An owner, an investor, an HR director and a journalist arrive with different questions. Start with yours.
Business owner
Discuss business risksCEO and senior management
Request an expert assessmentInvestor
Discuss an investment projectHR and HRD
Get an HR solutionLawyers and advocates
Discuss a joint casePrivate individuals
Request a confidential consultationInternational partners
Propose a partnershipIndustry colleagues
Become a partnerThe firm
Bureau RM
The practice that carries out most of the work. Founded in 2015 as the Bureau of Independent Investigations and renamed in 2026: the competencies had long outgrown investigations alone.
- Outsourced corporate security — without adding people to your payroll.
- Investigations, forensics, counterparty and personnel checks.
- Risk management, financial audit and information security added in 2026.
- Not a guard company: the focus is analysis, verification and asset protection, not physical protection.
Bureau RM, Qalqan, Mental Shield, Qalqan Media and JOI Consulting Group are separate organisations with separate remits. What they share is Rustam Mirzabayev's involvement.
Ecosystem
Projects and partner network
Five independent entities and a partner network across Kazakhstan, the CIS, the United States and the Baltics.
Bureau RM
A practice in corporate security, investigations and risk management.
ConfirmedSecurity Experts Qalqan
A professional association for the security and detective industry.
ConfirmedMental Shield
An educational product: a system for protecting your thinking, built in echelons.
ConfirmedQalqan Media
An expert media outlet bringing together physical, economic, legal, digital and human security.
ConfirmedJOI Consulting Group — Central Asia
An international consulting group: investment mandates, transactions and business support.
Community media
Qalqan Media
An expert media outlet bringing together physical, economic, legal, digital and human security.
Its mission is to gather and share the best security practices across the professional community, business and the public.
Qalqan's eight sectors — eight editorial verticals
The editorial structure mirrors the professional association: each sector is a full editorial vertical.
- Economic and internal security
- Physical protection
- Integrated technical security
- Information security
- Detective work
- Canine service
- Legal protection
- Lie detection and profiling
Social programme
Mental Shield
A social programme building personal and mental security skills: how manipulation works, why fraud succeeds, and what an ordinary person can do about it.
Echelon 1
Outer defence
Information hygiene, legal safety, resistance to manipulation. Everything that concerns contact with the outside world: incoming calls and messages, pressure, urgency, “exclusive offers”.
Echelon 2
Inner security
The foundation of the person: morality, faith, logic and the mind's “factory settings”. What you fall back on when the outward signs of deception no longer help and the decision is yours alone.
Media
The expert editors call for comment
KTK's documentary series “It Happened…” — 139 episodes in an investigative format. Podcasts, broadcasts and an own YouTube channel.
Professional network
Complex cases are rarely solved alone
Polygraph examiners, lawyers, technical and information security specialists, canine handlers, detectives abroad. If a case is not mine, I will say so and pass it to whoever it belongs to.
- Polygraph
- Advocates
- Cybersecurity
- Technical protection
- Detectives abroad
- Compliance
- HR screening
- Canine units
Personal discipline
Sporting life
Powerlifting since 2018. A discipline that cannot be faked: the bar shows exactly what was done in training.
- Repeat champion of Almaty, Kazakhstan, Asia, Europe and the world in masters divisions
- Master of sport in two federations
- Current record holder in Asia and Kazakhstan
Federations: IPF · WRPF · AWPC / WPC · NPA · WPPL
The same principle as in the work: the result comes from preparation, not from claims about yourself.
Confidentiality
What will never appear here
This site carries no client names, no details of investigations, no internal documents and no working methods. Cases are published anonymised and only with permission. That is not a polite disclaimer — it is the condition on which this work is possible at all.
Frequently asked questions
Are you a security guard company?
No. Bureau RM does not provide physical protection and is not a guard company. The focus is analysis, verification, investigations, audit and risk management. If the task is physical protection, I will refer you to specialist partners.
Do you guarantee results?
No, and nobody does. What is guaranteed is the method: a clear sequence of steps, verifiable sources, boundaries stated in advance, and a report that shows what was done and why the conclusions follow.
Is everything done lawfully?
The work is carried out within the law of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Screening of staff and candidates is performed only with the written consent of the person concerned. Assignments requiring unlawful methods are declined, and that is said upfront.
What happens after I get in touch?
A short conversation to understand the situation — sometimes it becomes clear that no service is needed at all. If it is, we define the task, the timeline, the boundaries and the cost. Work starts only once that is agreed.
What does it cost?
The cost is set individually on request, depending on the complexity and urgency of the matter.
Do you work outside Kazakhstan?
Yes. Through the partner network — the CIS, the Baltics and the United States. International mandates also run through JOI Consulting Group, where I am responsible for Central Asia.
Can I approach you anonymously?
Yes. The first conversation can happen without naming people or companies — describing the situation is enough. An NDA can be signed before any details are discussed.
Next step
Where to start
Describe the situation in two or three sentences — that is enough to establish whether a service is needed at all, and which one.
Your enquiry stays confidential