Fake Diplomas and Clear Diction: Who Taught Astana Police Hospitality?

In May 2024, almost two hundred police officers in Astana underwent training in hospitality and facilitation, i.e., successful teamwork. Tourists coming to Kazakhstan are indeed on the rise, seemingly necessitating the training. As a rule, police officers are tourists' first line of defense. Law enforcement officers, however, received "personal growth training" from a questionable organization. Orda.kz looked into the matter. 

On Paper

We have been conducting facilitation trainings in different cities of the country for several years now. We also came up with the initiative to conduct such training in Astana. We have the relevant capacity. I act as a trainer, says the president of the Eurasian Tourism Association (ETA), Rysty Karabayeva.

In the capital, police officer trainings should be held through government procurement. The Astana Development Center acted as the client for the facilitation and hospitality training. It announced a competition for 14 million tenge. It was planned to train 230 people. At least 180 were police officers. What was to be taught at the training was in its technical specifications. 

 Bidders also had to meet requirements for the availability of employees. 

Translation - Qualification requirements:

• The presence of at least 1 (one) specialist with higher education in the field of tourism with at least 1 (one) year of work experience, a certificate of a business coach who has completed professional coaching training at an international level, a certificate of a facilitator
• The presence of at least 1 (one) employee with higher education in the specialty "Pedagogy and Psychology"
• The presence of at least one (1) project coordinator with higher education in the specialty "Management"

Nine organizations submitted applications to conduct the training, of which three were admitted to the bidding: the Eurasian Tourism Association, Liberty Group Ltd., and SLV-Group.kz. The bidding took place in April 2024. EAT did not even make the list of potential service providers. Liberty Group Ltd. was declared the winner, and SLV-Group.kz became a potential supplier. 

A month later, the results of these auctions were revoked. The diploma of the employee with higher education in the field of tourism, which Liberty Group Ltd provided, was fake. EAT drew attention to the provided electronic copy of Tolkyn Amanbek's Shymkent University diploma having the degree "bachelor" indicated. However, this is not the case with electronic versions. EAT lodged a complaint with the Department of Internal State Audit in Astana. SLV-Group.kz did the same. 

The Far Eastern State University of Astana sent a request to Shymkent University. They clarified that Tolkyn Amanbek had not studied there. After the initial results were annulled, SLV-Group.kz was declared the winner. And the Eurasian Tourism Association became a potential service provider. 

Improvisation

SLV-Group.kz conducted the training. EAT's complaint to the Department of Internal State Audit of Astana also mentioned SLV-Group.kz. The claims against it were less, though. 

As proof of having an employee with a tourism education, SLV-Group.kz presented Tomiris Musayeva's diploma; she was hired by SLV-Group.kz in March 2024. She studied to be a trainer in Switzerland under the Bolashaq program.

However, her credentials received in Kazakhstan are questionable, i.e., a TM-Project facilitator certificate. TM-Project is a Kazakhstani LLP. According to open sources, only one LLP with this name exists in Kazakhstan. The organization is in Pavlodar, and judging by its participation in government procurement, it sells building materials. 

Tomiris Musayeva did not conduct the training; two other coaches did, one of whom was Tolkyn Amanbek. The same woman whose diploma was recognized as fake.

Orda.kz journalists were unable to attend it in person. Still, judging by the photos and training schedule that the editorial staff has, the discussion was not so much about hospitality and skills for working with tourists but rather about time management and oratory. Law enforcement officers, for instance, were taught techniques for reducing anxiety, clarity of diction, verbal improvisation, and even genres of performances. 

When an Orda journalist called SLV-Group.kz's head, Salavat Abdernasirov, he said contacting the employee directly would be necessary. 

Another discrepancy with the technical specification is the training format. The specification states that these should be groups of 20 people. In reality, all the police officers who were trained were gathered in one place on the same day. 

The training did not go as planned, was not about what was supposed to be discussed, and was led by a trainer with a fake diploma. Meanwhile, the client, the Astana Development Center, did not question this. 14 million tenge was allocated from the budget for the training. 

Not Prohibited by Law

When asked how long SLV-Group.kz has been conducting facilitation and hospitality courses, Abdernasirov said it was not the first year. Judging by the state procurement website, this company has not won such competitions over the past five years. But it has won in others. 

According to public sources, SLV-Group.kz has participated in 483 public procurement tenders over the past five years, winning 54. And this is far from just the tourism industry. Here are just some of the tenders that SLV-Group.kz won in 2024: 

• Preparation and release of video products on the prevention of religious extremism and terrorism: Client - Department of Religious Affairs of the city of Almaty
• Software technical support services. Client - Ministry of Internal Affairs
• Services for delivery and transportation of textbooks. Client - Education Department of Karaganda Region
• Hydrangea paniculata Limelight. Client - Astana-Zelenstroy. 

We asked Salavat Abdernasirov how they managed to be so diverse. 

He answered:

But Abdernasirov could not say how large the staff of the company he heads is, asking us to send them an official request. 

When we saw the versatility of SLV-Group.kz, we immediately remembered the guide courses in Almaty conducted by EMD-Group. It also often participates in various public procurement competitions. According to an Orda source, these companies are closely related. 

The source claims that their real managers used to be Electronic Commerce Center employees.

Unfortunately, it was not possible to confirm this via documents. But if true, this may explain SLV-Group, kHz, and EMD-Group's ability to win competitions in various areas and evade claims from regulatory authorities. Incidentally, EMD-Group also won a competition to conduct facilitation training in Almaty. 

EMD-Group received a license for tour operator activities a month before conducting courses for guides, and SLV-Group.kz has had it since June last year. 

However, as EAT explained, obtaining such a license in Kazakhstan is easy. To do this, you need: 

• An employee with tourism education
• An office lease agreement
• An agreement with a hotel or transport company 

A request is submitted via eOtinish. And the licensing authorities do not have the right to inspect such "tour operators."

Original Author: Igor Ulitin