According to media reports, the Anti-Corruption Service of the National Security Committee (NSC) has detained two heads of the republican state enterprise (RSE) Yenbek, which is subordinate to Kazakhstan's Ministry of Internal Affairs. 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 Yenbek, Yermek Shurmanov, and the head of the food department, Furkat Khudaibergenov, 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.
The individuals concerned are reported to be 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 supply volumes 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 an inspection. However, specific results of product testing and the number of institutions in which violations were identified are not provided.
WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE INVESTIGATION
General director Yermek Shurmanov took charge of the enterprise during the tenure of Yerzhan Sadenov as head of the Ministry 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 to which they are entitled.
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.
