After auditors identified violations in the training programme provided by the company for its employees at Intergas Central Asia JSC (ICA), Anticor conducted a pre-trial investigation.
The training programme for ICA employees was governed by the Rules for the Training of Young Specialists, approved by a decision of the joint-stock company's board. However, during the audit, improper write-offs for training were identified, including expensive contracts with foreign educational institutions. Some of those who received training had family ties to senior company employees, which raised further questions about the transparency of the process.
According to Ratel.kz, the students included the niece of the former head of QazaqGaz, Kairat Sharipbayev - Nazira Saken; the daughter of the former general director of ICA, Valentin Khvan - Maria; the daughter of the director of the legal department at ICA, Aliya Konraubayeva - Ayazhan Seitzhan; and others.
Responsible for the training programme was the former first deputy general director of ICA, Mukhatay Shanbatyrov. According to the investigation, he chaired the committee for working with students and was simultaneously a member of the company's board.
He was accused of making unjustified decisions in granting educational scholarships. Under the article with which he was charged - Article 195, Part 5 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Causing property damage through deception or abuse of trust" - he faced 5 to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property.
"Based on the decisions of the commission and the board, between 2015 and 2021, educational scholarships were granted to 12 lucky individuals for study at higher education institutions abroad, totalling over 600 million tenge. At the same time, as auditors from the Accounts Committee previously established, the joint-stock company lacked a regulatory legal document governing the procedure for determining the need for training young specialists, the selection of candidates, and the conditions for training the company's young specialists", the statement reads.
As the investigation established, 12 graduates who studied at the expense of ICA in London, Singapore, or California effectively failed to fulfil their obligations to work for five years or to reimburse the costs of tuition, accommodation, stipends, and other expenses.
It is reported that after the auditors' inspection, some of the parents whose children received educational scholarships reimbursed the company for the money spent on tuition.
For example, the debts for the tuition of Maria Khvan (64.7 million tenge) and Alisher Dikhanbayev (51 million tenge) to ICA were fully repaid. The remaining 484.95 million tenge was paid by Mukhatay Shanbatyrov after the criminal case was opened. Subsequently, due to the full compensation of the loss, the pre-trial investigation against him was terminated following a reconciliation of the parties.
It will be recalled that it was previously reported that, according to ICA data, between 2015 and 2021, 490.8 million tenge was spent on training 11 students abroad under the company's programme. However, due to the graduates' refusal to work after their training, their debt under the contracts at the end of 2021 amounted to 446.4 million tenge.