In Kostanay, the head of the Social Adaptation Centre for persons without a fixed place of residence was found guilty of embezzling budget funds on a large scale.
According to the press service of the city courts, between 2017 and 2023, the accused fictitiously employed a driver, a cleaner, a housekeeper and a legal advisor at the Centre.
These employees did not actually perform their duties, but the head signed timesheets, and appropriated their accrued salaries, bonuses and holiday pay. The amount of embezzlement totalled 11.2 million tenge.
At the court hearing, the defendant fully admitted his guilt. He later compensated for the damage in full.
The court found the head of the Centre guilty and sentenced him to 2 years and 6 months of imprisonment, with a ban on holding positions in the civil service.
It is worth recalling that in April, it became known that the State Institution 'Department for the Coordination of Employment and Social Programmes of the Pavlodar Region' had entered into contracts with 'Art-Class' LLP and the Public Association of People with Disabilities 'Ayum i D' for the supply of laptops and mobile phones. The total procurement amount was over 476 million tenge.
However, the supplier purchased cheaper equivalents of electronic equipment which did not meet the stated technical specifications. This caused damage of nearly 133 million tenge. The court found the deputy head of the employment department guilty and sentenced her to 9 years in prison. The supplier was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison.
In May, it was reported that employees of the departments of the Pavlodar city akimat and the apparatus of the akim of the Pavlodar district had embezzled more than 89 million tenge from the budget. Between August 2022 and September 2023, they received illegal payments for the work of personal assistants for people with disabilities. As a result, the court sentenced the convicted persons to restrictions on their freedom ranging from 3.5 to 5.5 years.
In November, the Anti-Corruption Service of the East Kazakhstan Region exposed the head of the corporate fund 'Shygys' of the Kazakh Society of the Deaf for fraud. She is suspected of misappropriating 115 million tenge of budget funds.