The AFM Department for Shymkent uncovered a money laundering scheme linked to the underground production of surrogate alcohol.
According to the agency's press service, since 2022 the Karsenov couple organised the illegal production of alcohol with counterfeit excise stamps. In addition to Shymkent, the products were also sold in neighbouring regions — Turkestan and Zhambyl regions.
During searches, more than 9,000 litres of ethyl alcohol, 24,000 counterfeit excise stamps, finished alcoholic products and 75 million tenge were seized from the suspects. The criminal income from the underground workshop's activities was estimated at over 309 million tenge.
The investigation established that the couple used the proceeds to purchase 13 expensive cars worth a total of 234 million tenge («Toyota Land Cruiser 300», «ZEEKR 001», «KIA K8», «Hyundai Grandeur», «VOLVO» and others). Some of the cars were registered in the names of close relatives in an attempt to avoid confiscation.
The court found the couple guilty and sentenced them to 5 and 6 years' imprisonment. The 13 cars purchased with criminally obtained funds, as well as 75 million tenge, were confiscated to the state.
Recall that in March 2024, the Taraz court ordered the confiscation of alcoholic products worth 110.2 million tenge from the company «ASCO Pro». The former head of the enterprise tried to keep the confiscated goods for himself, for which he received 1 year and 3 months' imprisonment.
In August, an underground workshop producing counterfeit alcohol was uncovered in Shymkent. A local resident used the brands «Absolut», «Zelyonaya Marka», «Aydaboulskaya», «Qulan» and others to sell illegal products.
In December, it was reported that over three days, police removed more than 7 tonnes of alcohol-containing products without the relevant documents from illegal circulation. They confiscated around 160,000 packs of illegal cigarettes, over 26,000 vapes, approximately 34,000 cartridges for them, 35,000 oil cubes and more than a thousand packs of snus.