(2 March 2026 | Source: press service of the Astana city court)
In Astana, the court found a school principal and a chief accountant guilty in a case involving the embezzlement of institutional funds and abuse of office. The case covers a period of almost nine years and includes several episodes of financial misconduct totalling hundreds of millions of tenge. The sentence has not yet entered into force.
WHAT VIOLATIONS THE COURT ESTABLISHED
According to the Inter-District Criminal Court of Astana, the woman who served as school principal, and the woman who was chief accountant, between October 2015 and August 2024, unjustifiably logged timesheets for six cleaners who did not actually work at the institution. As a result, approximately 29 million tenge was misappropriated and embezzled.
The court also established that the principal, between 2015 and 2024, unilaterally issued orders granting tuition fee discounts to 501 students totalling 183 million tenge, even though the school's charter did not provide for such concessions for fee-paying education.
Furthermore, between 1 January 2018 and 31 May 2024, the school organised zero-grade classes, accepting cash payments from parents without using a cash register. These funds were not deposited into the bank account and were not recorded in the accounting records. According to the court, the amount of misappropriated funds stood at 305 million tenge.
The court also found it established that the principal had misappropriated 25 million tenge from the summer camp, which were absent from the state institution's records, and had inflated the salaries of foreign teachers, subsequently appropriating around 75 million tenge through intermediaries.
The chief accountant, according to the verdict, legalised some of the funds by transferring approximately 176 million tenge to a deposit account and receiving 9 million tenge in interest. The case materials do not specify how the violations were uncovered or whether internal audits were conducted before the criminal case was initiated.
POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES
The prosecutor requested that the defendants each be sentenced to 7 years' imprisonment with confiscation of property and a lifetime ban from holding public office.
The defendants pleaded not guilty. The defence asked the court to acquit them due to the absence of a criminal offence.
The court stated that their guilt was confirmed by the testimony of victims' representatives and witnesses, expert opinions, and physical evidence.
WHAT THE COURT CONSIDERED
When handing down the sentence, the court took into account mitigating circumstances: the principal's retirement age (65) and the fact that the chief accountant has three young children. No aggravating circumstances were found.
The court also noted the duration of the offences, the large scale of the damage, and the fact that the damage caused had not been compensated.
WHAT SENTENCE WAS HANDED DOWN
The court found the principal and chief accountant guilty under Article 189, Part 4, Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (“Embezzlement or misappropriation of entrusted property on an especially large scale”), Article 361, Part 4, Paragraph 3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (“Abuse of official powers”), and Article 218, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (“Legalisation of money and other property obtained by criminal means”).
Taking into account the circumstances, the court sentenced:
- the principal — to 8 years' imprisonment with confiscation of a two-storey residential house, a parking space, and jewellery;
- the accountant — to 7 years' imprisonment with confiscation of a car, a parking space, and jewellery.
The execution of the accountant's sentence has been suspended for 1 year due to her having three young children.
The civil claim was granted in the amount of 588 million tenge.
The case combines several episodes of financial misconduct within a single institution and demonstrates how they could have accumulated over a long period without being reflected in official records.
The sentence has not yet entered into force.