Astana Woman Jailed For Visa Fraud Worth Nearly 900 Million Tenge

A court in Astana sentenced a woman to six years and eight months in prison for visa fraud. She defrauded clients of almost 900 million tenge, Orda.kz reports.

According to the court, the woman worked as the director of two LLPs and offered clients help obtaining long-term visas to the United States, the United Kingdom, and Schengen countries, as well as residence permits and citizenship. In reality, she did not provide those services.

The prosecutor requested a prison sentence and asked the court to ban the defendant from working in tourism and migration for five years. The woman partially admitted guilt, while the defense asked for the minimum sentence.

The court recognized sincere remorse as a mitigating circumstance and sentenced her to six years and eight months in prison. She will serve her sentence in a medium-security facility. The court also banned her from doing business in tourism and migration for five years.

The verdict has not yet entered into force.

Original author: Ilya Astakhov

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