Employees from several departments of the Mangistau regional police department have reported systematic violations and pressure from management. According to the authors of the collective appeal, they were forced to sign documents for fictitious work and purchases. The statement mentions the embezzlement of budget funds and threats against employees.
On the Facebook page "New and Fair Kazakhstan/Жаңа және Әділетті Қазақстан", a collective statement was published, signed by employees of the logistics department, the financial management department, and the information communications department of the regional police force.
They addressed it to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the Prosecutor General, Berik Asylov, the Chairman of the National Security Committee, Yermek Sagymbaev, and the Minister of Internal Affairs, Yerzhan Sadenov.
According to the employees, the department's leadership — in particular, the head of the police department, Sagyndyk Ayaganov, and several of his deputies — exerted pressure, demanding they sign certificates for uncompleted work, invoices, and payment documents for contractors.
The authors of the appeal claim they fear being held responsible for violations committed on the orders of management.
According to the complainants, this year the department received 27 billion tenge from the local budget, of which 12.6 billion tenge was intended for strengthening the material and technical base and capital repairs.
The appeal states that some purchases were made at inflated prices, and certain facilities — including operational departments in four districts, as well as a 25-bed police hospital — do not meet technical specifications. The construction of the hospital, costing 824 million tenge, was accompanied by violations: some equipment is missing, and the quality of work does not meet project requirements.
Employees who refused to sign acceptance certificates were subjected to pressure.
"The head of the police department's medical service, Roza Utesinova, who refused to sign the facility's commissioning certificate, was subjected to pressure and dismissed. Practically all employees who were placed on the reserve list or dismissed had resisted the management's corrupt demands," the statement reads.
The complainants assert that the department heads received increased quarterly bonuses of 2–2.5 million tenge, while rank-and-file employees were paid 30–40 thousand tenge.
The appeal also mentions a lack of trust in the work of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' own security department. The employees claim that inspections were conducted formally.
"They limit themselves to a formal anonymous survey and leave, stating that the violations were 'not confirmed,'" the appeal states.
It is also reported that the deputy head of the department for general affairs, Baurzhan Otargaliev, is connected to employees of the own security department and the Anti-Corruption Service.
"Together they control the heads of city and district police, migration, and patrol police departments, receiving monthly bribes from them," the statement alleges.
According to the authors of the statement, they fear for the safety of their families and ask for protection to be ensured in the event of an inspection.
"We fear reprisals. But we are ready to testify openly if protection is provided for us and our families," the statement says.
The employees are requesting the appointment of an independent comprehensive audit by the central apparatus of the National Security Committee, judicial examinations of all construction projects, repairs, and purchases, the criminal prosecution of Ayaganov and his group, protection for employees who have evidence, as well as the suppression of corruption and the restoration of legality.