The City Court of Zhezkazgan has announced a verdict against the heads of the Department of Culture, Language Development and Archives of the Ulytau Region and the Centre for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Heritage. They were accused of corruption.
According to the press service of the Anti-Corruption Agency, the officials received a bribe in the amount of 2 million tenge from a representative of the contracting organisation. The bribe was intended for general patronage and the signing of documents under a contract for archaeological excavations in the area of ancient burial grounds within the region.
As a result, the court sentenced the heads of the state institutions to 6 years' imprisonment. The representative of the contractor company, LLP 'Centre for the Study and Preservation of Cultural Heritage', was sentenced to 3.5 years' imprisonment.
All convicts were also permanently banned from holding positions in public service.
Earlier, it was reported that the Anti-Corruption Agency of the Ulytau Region was conducting a pre-trial investigation into the aforementioned officials.