The court ordered JSC "KazNIISA" to return 894 million 177 thousand tenge to the state budget in a dispute related to contracts for surveying Almaty's buildings for seismic resistance. The appeal court's decision came into legal force on 13 March 2026.
HOW THE DISPUTE AROSE
According to BES.media, on 29 June 2017 the Almaty city planning and urbanism department concluded two government procurement contracts with JSC "KazNIISA" for a total of 1 billion 330 million 224 thousand tenge. The work involved the certification and seismic resistance surveying of real estate properties.
The first contract, worth 799.1 million tenge, covered 7,027 properties; the second, worth 531.1 million tenge, covered a further 3,131 properties.
WHAT INSPECTIONS WERE CARRIED OUT
In 2021, specialists from LLP "Ulan Stroy Ekspertiza", at the initiative of the Department of the National Security Committee (NSC), conducted an audit. Following this, the Almaty prosecutor's office filed a court claim.
On 30 March 2023, the economic court upheld the claim and recovered the first part of the sum — 436 million 47 thousand tenge — from JSC "KazNIISA". The decision came into legal force.
Later, during a new inspection carried out with the participation of the Department of Internal State Audit for Almaty city of the Committee of Internal State Audit of the Ministry of Finance and LLP "NurAdi", specialists stated in a report dated 19 June 2024 that there were financial violations totalling 1 billion 330 million 224 thousand tenge, subject to reimbursement to the budget.
HOW THE PROCEEDINGS UNFOLDED
In May 2025, the Almaty prosecutor's office filed a new claim to recover the remaining sum — 894 million 177 thousand tenge.
Representatives of JSC "KazNIISA" disagreed with the demands and requested the application of the three-year statute of limitations. The defendant also alleged violations during the inspection and the filing of the claim.
The court of first instance, in August 2025, fully upheld the prosecutor's office's demands. The court concluded that the statute of limitations had not expired, as the clock started ticking after the 2023 court decision, which established the fact of violations.
According to the information provided, JSC "KazNIISA" is 100% state-owned. The company's founder is the Committee for Construction and Housing and Communal Services Affairs of the Ministry of Industry and Construction.
WHAT CAME TO LIGHT ON APPEAL
The appeal proceedings began on 28 November 2025 in the Almaty City Court.
During the hearing, it emerged that an additional forensic economic examination had been conducted as part of a criminal investigation. According to its findings, the work under the contracts was completed in full, and no damage to the state was established. Following this, on 27 March 2025, the Prosecutor General's Office closed the criminal case due to the absence of a criminal offence.
Due to the conflicting conclusions, the judicial panel ordered a new forensic economic examination, which was assigned to the Institute of Forensic Examination for Almaty city. The content of this report is not disclosed in the publication's materials.
After the proceedings resumed, on 13 March 2026, the appeal panel upheld the decision of the court of first instance and dismissed the appeal by JSC "KazNIISA".
WHAT THE COURT DECISION MEANS
Following the decision coming into legal force, the total amount recovered through the two court proceedings stood at 1 billion 330 million 224 thousand tenge.
The court stated that the existence of signed acceptance certificates and completed payment does not in itself confirm the quality and completeness of the work performed. The ruling notes that the specialists' conclusions were obtained by authorised bodies and assessed by the courts alongside other evidence.