A court in Shymkent sentenced coaches from city sports schools to restriction of liberty. They were accused of embezzling budget funds.
According to the press service of the city prosecutor's office, between 2022 and 2023, the coaches, by submitting false travel expense documents for athletes’ trips to training camps in Almaty, Taraz and the Turkestan Region, embezzled more than 6 million tenge. According to law enforcement, they have fully compensated the state for the damage.
Previously, it was reported that during the lockdown - from April to May 2020 - the Department of Physical Culture and Sports of the Kostanay Region wrote off nearly 625 million tenge for the preparation and participation in competitions of the football club Tobol and the professional club Ayat - i.e., for services that were not actually provided.
At the same time, it emerged that Kostanay coaches had not submitted expense reports for business trips since 2019 totalling almost 350 million tenge. Furthermore, the sports department issued new travel warrants despite existing arrears, which constitutes a gross violation.