In Shymkent, a sentence has been handed down in a case regarding a corruption offence in the education sector. The former chief accountant of secondary school No. 43, Aidan Mekemtas, was found guilty of embezzling and misappropriating funds entrusted to her, using her official position.
According to Ratel.kz, from January 2022 to August 2024, Mekemtas, having access to the school's electronic digital signature (EDS), inflated the calculated salaries of certain employees. She then explained to the teachers that a technical glitch had occurred and asked them to return the "extra money" supposedly to reimburse the budget. The teachers transferred the funds to her personal account, believing they were correcting an accounting error.
Furthermore, it is reported that in mid-2024, without conducting official public procurement procedures, Mekemtas transferred 4,618,041 tenge to the account of a businessman acquaintance of hers — supposedly for school improvement works. She later returned these funds to herself, explaining to the businessman that the payment had been made by mistake.
According to the investigation, the total damage caused to the state by the former accountant's actions amounted to 13,022,606 tenge. During the trial, Mekemtas fully admitted her guilt and explained that she is a Group II disabled person and in need of expensive medical treatment. She voluntarily returned all the illegally appropriated funds.
The court found the woman guilty and sentenced her to 2 years' imprisonment to be served in a minimum-security facility. In addition, she was permanently banned from holding positions in the civil service.
For context, earlier in the inter-district criminal court of Shymkent, a sentence was passed on the former director of secondary school No. 133, Assel Baidossova, and the chief accountant of the same institution, Ulan Dadabekov. They were found guilty of embezzling budget funds and accepting a bribe.