The Department of the Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA) of Kostanay Region has completed its investigation into a criminal case against a group of individuals led by the director of a meat-processing enterprise, BEEF EXPORT GROUP LLP.
According to the agency's press service, they are suspected of embezzling budget funds allocated under the national project "Development of the Agro-Industrial Complex of the Republic of Kazakhstan", causing damage to the state in excess of 3 billion tenge.
During the pre-trial investigation, the suspects compensated 107 million tenge. Law enforcement officers seized property belonging to them, valued at 3.1 billion tenge.
"In total, 49 people were involved in the criminal scheme, of whom 13 are members of an organised group charged with misappropriation of subsidies, tax evasion, illegal business activities, legalisation of criminally obtained property, bribery of officials, and document forgery," the FMA reports.
Furthermore, the group's leader is also accused of assault against a civil servant who was conducting a tax audit of his company.
Additionally, the directors and representatives of 30 farming enterprises from Kostanay, Aktobe, North Kazakhstan, Pavlodar, and West Kazakhstan regions are named as suspects.
Beyond this, three employees of the Kostanay Region Akimat's Department of Agriculture are accused of complicity in the embezzlement of funds and bribery.
Seven veterinary doctors are suspected of document forgery, entering false information into the animal registration information system, and receiving illegal remuneration.
Previously, it was reported about a widespread scheme of channelling funds in the livestock sector - the falsification of data on agricultural animals in the "Identification of Agricultural Animals" (IAA) database. By entering the identification number of the same animal multiple times, it is possible to increase or change the animal's age and gender. Similar schemes were identified as early as 2021 during the Anti-Corruption Service's audit of the subsidy system.
Thus, in the Turkestan Region, in just one farm, over 400 instances were recorded of adjusting the age of adult cows to calves. In the Zhambyl Region, back in October 2021, the head of the livestock department received a sentence of 7.5 years' imprisonment for fraud involving subsidies for livestock that had never even been purchased, to the sum of 33 million tenge.