The Anti-Corruption Service of the National Security Committee (NSC), according to media reports, has detained two heads of the republican state enterprise (RSE) «Enbek», which is subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan. According to the publication, both have been charged with corruption offences linked to the procurement and supply of food to correctional institutions.
WHO WAS DETAINED BY NSC OFFICERS
As reported by Ertenmedia.kz, officers of the Anti-Corruption Service detained the general director of RSE «Enbek» Ermek Shurmanov and the head of the food department Furkat Khudaibergenov directly in their offices.
According to the publication, both have been charged with committing corruption offences on an especially large scale in the procurement and supply of food to correctional institutions.
It is reported that the suspects are in custody. The exact amount of the alleged damage to the state budget is still being established.
HOW FOOD PROCUREMENT FOR COLONIES CHANGED
According to the publication, after the appointment of new management, the enterprise changed the system of food provision for correctional institutions.
Previously, food supplies to colonies in various regions were handled by eight independent suppliers. Subsequently, multi-billion-tenge procurements were concentrated in the hands of a single company.
The publication links these changes to possible irregularities in the allocation of state contracts. The name of the company that received the bulk of the supplies is not disclosed in the article.
WHY CONCERNS AROSE OVER PRISONERS' FOOD
Law enforcement attention was drawn by numerous complaints from correctional institutions.
There are reports of food shortages, supplies of poor-quality products and failure to comply with the established calorie norms for prisoners' food.
The publication claims that these circumstances became one of the grounds for the investigation. However, specific results of product testing and the number of institutions where violations were identified are not provided.
WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE INVESTIGATION
General director Ermek Shurmanov took charge of the enterprise during the tenure of Yerzhan Sadenov as Minister of Internal Affairs.
The alleged irregularities in food procurement affect not only the spending of budget funds but also the provision of prisoners with the food they are entitled to.
The original publication contains no official comments from the NSC or the Ministry of Internal Affairs, no information on the specific articles of the Criminal Code, and no established amount of the alleged damage.
UPD: Later, the Penal Enforcement Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported the detention of one of the managers of the RSE «Eңbek» unit responsible for organising meals for convicts. The information about the detention of the enterprise's general director, Ermek Shurmanov, was not confirmed.
