The Department of the Agency for Financial Monitoring (AFM) for the Turkistan Region is conducting an investigation into the theft of budget funds during the procurement of medical equipment for the Kazyghurt District Central Hospital.
According to the agency's press office, the former chief physician of the hospital is suspected of organising a scheme in which equipment for medical gas supply was divided into separate components to facilitate the processing of several government procurements.
It is reported that an acquaintance of the suspect, experienced in the supply of medical devices, was involved in implementing the scheme. She used controlled commercial organisations registered in the names of relatives and acquaintances.
Deliberately inflated commercial offers were prepared on behalf of these firms, while the actual delivery of the equipment was carried out by a third-party company. Nevertheless, the contracts and acceptance certificates were processed through the controlled firms.
After the hospital transferred the funds, the suspects cashed them out and distributed them among themselves. The amount of damage to the state amounted to 115 million tenge.
With the criminally obtained funds, the female suspect purchased a two-room flat in Astana. The court authorised the seizure of the property.
A measure of restraint in the form of bail was selected for the former chief physician, while his accomplice is under house arrest.
It is worth recalling that earlier in Kyzylorda, an investigation was concluded regarding officials of the Regional Infectious Diseases Hospital, suspected of embezzling 129 million tenge during the procurement of medical beds.