East Kazakhstan Public-Private Partnership Officials Accused of Financial Crimes

In the East Kazakhstan region, the management of the public-private partnership center is accused of illegal business, money laundering, and theft of budget funds, Orda.kz reports.

The Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA) investigated the case.

According to the FMA, in 2019, a project to modernize street lighting was launched in Oskemen and Semey.

The state center was responsible for this, and it was supposed to replace old lamps with energy-efficient lamps.

However, officials inflated the work cost and accepted low-quality equipment, resulting in budget damages of two and a half billion tenge.

To hide the criminal proceeds, the head of the center registered a controlled limited liability company through which he cashed out the funds. With the illicit funds, they bought elite real estate and cars for 265 million tenge, registering them in the names of fictitious persons, The Financial Monitoring Agency reports.

The suspects are in custody, and their property was confiscated. They will soon go to trial.

JSC "Regional Center for Public-Private Partnership of East Kazakhstan Region" is a state institution searching for social infrastructure investments via implementing PPP projects.

Original Author: Zarina Fayzulina