In Ust-Kamenogorsk, a verdict was passed on the former head of JSC "Regional Centre for Public-Private Partnership of the East Kazakhstan Region" Daulet Batyrbayev and other defendants in a case involving the embezzlement of budget funds, illegal participation in entrepreneurial activities, and the legalisation of criminal proceeds.
According to the press service of the Agency for Financial Monitoring (AFM), in 2019 the East Kazakhstan Region launched the "Modernisation of Street Lighting Systems in the cities of Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semey" project, which provided for replacing outdated lighting fixtures with energy-efficient LED lamps to reduce electricity consumption and improve lighting quality.
However, during the implementation of the project, the cost of equipment and work was artificially inflated. The total damage to the state amounted to 320 million tenge.
Furthermore, to legalise criminal proceeds, the former head of the centre registered a limited liability partnership (LLP) in the name of a trusted person, which was used as a subcontracting organisation. The cashing out of embezzled funds was carried out through fictitious contracts.
By the court verdict, all three defendants — Batyrbayev, Khalitov Y.G., Papyshev N.T. — were sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment. The civil claim for damages was satisfied in full.
The court also ordered the confiscation of property acquired with criminal proceeds, including a land plot with a residential house and an aerial work platform. The verdict has entered into legal force.
It is worth recalling that the court of first instance had already passed a verdict in July in the case concerning the embezzlement of budget funds during the implementation of the street lighting modernisation project in the East Kazakhstan Region. At the time, it was reported that the defendants in the case were found guilty and sentenced to 8 years of imprisonment.
As the court press service noted, Batyrbayev, with the assistance of Khalitov, accepted and paid for lighting fixtures that did not meet the technical specifications. As a result, the state suffered damage totalling 2,266,707,000 tenge.
Furthermore, the court then claimed that Batyrbayev, Khalitov, and Papyshev, from 6 April to 25 July 2023, by signing fictitious acts, committed embezzlement by appropriating and misappropriating budget funds amounting to 122,883,000 tenge.
The court also established that between 2 September and 12 December 2022, the defendants illegally concluded an additional agreement with a contractor, inflating the cost of work, goods, and services. As a result, the contractor was transferred 206,003,200 tenge at inflated rates.