Shymkent Colleges Used Fictitious Students to Steal Over 1.3 Billion Tenge

More than 1.3 billion tenge was stolen from the budget through fictitious students at two Shymkent colleges,  Orda.kz reports.

The Financial Monitoring Agency has completed an investigation into the theft of more than 1.3 billion tenge through South Kazakhstan Higher Medical College LLP and South Kazakhstan Humanitarian and Financial College LLP.

According to investigators, the founder of the two colleges organized a fictitious education scheme from 2018 to 2023. People were formally enrolled at the colleges but did not attend classes. This allowed the suspects to receive money under state-funded education and retraining programs.

Investigators say the founder’s accomplices included college managers, accountants, and affiliated individuals.

The scheme was carried out through fake enrollment and employment orders, electronic digital signatures, and fictitious completion certificates. The investigation also found that some fee-paying students at the medical college were registered as state-funded students,the agency said.

South Kazakhstan Humanitarian and Financial College did not operate at all. Investigators say it was used solely as a shell to receive budget money.

The alleged organizer of the scheme has spent the past three years in prison for a previous theft conviction and allegedly managed the illegal activities from there.

The suspects voluntarily reimbursed 65 million tenge. The court seized three apartments, including one in Dubai, as well as three residential houses and three cars. Two defendants were placed in custody, while three others were banned from leaving the country. The case has been sent to court.

Original author: Ruslan Loginov

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