The convicted head of the "QNet" financial pyramid Sheherazade Isina has been ordered to pay 70 million tenge to citizens who suffered as a result of her actions.
In July last year, the Kostanay city court sentenced Isina to six years in prison. At the time, prosecutors proved that her company had attracted savings from 94 citizens totalling more than 86 million tenge.
According to Ratel.kz, this time the Kostanay city court considered claims from 80 victims against the convicted woman for compensation for material damage and moral harm.
"During the criminal case proceedings, the injured parties filed civil claims totalling 70 million tenge. The plaintiffs were recognised as victims. As a result of the defendant's criminal actions, the financial pyramid's structural unit attracted funds on an especially large scale, belonging to 94 investors. The plaintiffs in this claim suffered material damage," the court explained.
For her part, Isina did not admit the claim, arguing that the plaintiffs had supposedly purchased goods. In her opinion, no damage had been caused.
However, the court did not accept the defendant's arguments and upheld the victims' demands for compensation for damage amounting to 70 million tenge.
"The court takes into account that the damage to the plaintiffs was caused precisely by the criminal activity of the defendant and third parties in the civil case, who were directly subordinate to the defendant. Each of the third parties in the case carried out their criminal role in the scheme of the financial pyramid's activities. Therefore, their actions are causally linked to the consequences that arose for the plaintiffs as victims," the court's ruling stated.
Recall, in May 2023 it was reported that the "Qnet" financial pyramid from 2018 to 2020 had attracted 231 Kazakhstani citizens and caused total material damage of more than 220 million tenge.
In January 2024, the organiser of a branch of the "Qnet" financial pyramid in the Aktobe region received 5 years in prison. He was accused of creating and leading a structural unit of the company, whose activities were disguised as network marketing.
In November, a verdict was handed down in Petropavlovsk regarding the creation and management of a structural unit of the "Qnet" financial pyramid. At that time, the defendants included a former head of the police department of the M. Zhumabaev district, retired Ministry of Internal Affairs officers, local residents, and an entrepreneur. It became known that 110 investors in the financial pyramid had lost more than 100 million tenge.