FMA Says Drug Supplier Used UAE Company to Inflate Prices and Buy Real Estate

Kazakhstan’s Financial Monitoring Agency believes a pharmaceutical supplier used a shell company in the UAE to move money and buy real estate, Orda.kz reports.

Interfarmservice LLP was the sole supplier of these drugs in Kazakhstan. For five years, the company sold medicines to medical institutions across the country. According to the AFM, the manufacturer had set maximum prices, but the company’s management found a way around them.

The scheme looked like this: a controlled company from the UAE was inserted into the supply chain. Fictitious transactions were carried out through it, and the sale price of the drugs was inflated. This made it possible to conceal the real cost and generate illegal profit.investigators said.

The AFM also says that after profiting from the scheme, the company’s management sought to avoid paying taxes. Money was withdrawn through fictitious transactions with fake individual entrepreneurs and false invoices. In total, more than 4 billion tenge was allegedly cashed out in this way. The company is accused of evading 637 million tenge in taxes.

Two suspects were placed under house arrest, while a third was released on bail. The case is now being prepared for transfer to court.

Original author: Ruslan Loginov

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