A state audit of Kazakhstan's scientific sector uncovered financial violations worth KZT 51 billion and inefficient planning and use of funds amounting to KZT 47 billion. The review also showed that dozens of research projects failed to achieve the expected results despite state funding.
BILLIONS ALLOCATED WITHOUT DETAILED BREAKDOWN OF EXPENDITURE
According to the Supreme Audit Chamber (SAC), its chairman, Alikhan Smailov, presented the results of the review at a plenary session of the Kurultai.
The audit established that KZT 62 billion was allocated to 79 research projects under programme-targeted funding without a detailed breakdown of expenditure.
At the same time, the current mechanism allows implementers to receive 96–98% of a project's value before the final assessment. Even if the final report is not accepted, the bulk of the funding remains with the implementer.
RESEARCH PROJECTS FAILED TO DELIVER RESULTS
The review showed that 176 projects worth KZT 16 billion failed to achieve their planned results.
The National Centre for State Scientific and Technical Expertise examined more than 2,000 projects in 2025 and identified violations worth more than KZT 3 billion. However, the national scientific councils merely noted the information.
The auditors also established that the effectiveness of scientific developments is often assessed by the number of publications, patents and implementation certificates rather than by their practical application.
In particular, for 60 patents in the audit sample, no agreements on the use of the developments were found.
MOST COMMERCIAL PROJECTS FAILED TO SECURE STABLE SALES
Certain questions arose regarding the commercialisation of scientific developments. According to the Science Fund, the official figure stood at 44%, but on a comparable calculation for the reporting year it fell to 16%.
Of 141 completed projects, only 38 projects (27%) secured stable product sales over the past three years.
The remaining 103 projects worth KZT 22 billion failed to achieve the expected production and sales targets.
The audit also identified shortcomings in the use of subsoil users' mandatory contributions of 1% for research and development (R&D). Part of the funds received was placed in deposits, securities and repo transactions instead of being used for scientific activity.
AUDIT MATERIALS REFERRED TO LAW ENFORCEMENT
Based on the results of the review, the SAC established:
- KZT 51 billion — financial violations;
- KZT 47 billion — inefficient planning and use of funds;
- 36 cases — materials referred to the authorised bodies for administrative liability proceedings;
- 3 instances — a decision taken to refer materials to law enforcement bodies.
The auditors recommended that the Government strengthen control over the spending of funds and introduce end-to-end digital accounting of research projects — from the allocation of funding to the practical use of the results.
SAC chairman Alikhan Smailov stated that the agency would continue to monitor the implementation of the recommendations and instructions by the responsible state bodies.
