The Prosecutor General's Office has reported on the embezzlement of child maintenance payments by private bailiffs.
According to the Kazinform news agency, private bailiff Ablakhan A. received maintenance payments from debtors for six months and spent them on personal needs. As a result, 34 children suffered losses amounting to 1.2 million tenge. A pre-trial investigation was launched against Ablakhan, during which he fully compensated for the damage. The criminal case was later closed due to a reconciliation between the parties.
In another case, private bailiff Ospanov N. transferred incoming maintenance payments worth 1 million tenge to his son's account. In January, a pre-trial investigation was initiated against the bailiff, and the case was subsequently sent to court. The criminal case was also closed due to a reconciliation between the parties. The damage was fully compensated.
It is noted that over the past two years, the prosecutor's office has received 6,973 complaints regarding the actions of private bailiffs. These mainly concerned the failure to execute court rulings, the inaction of bailiffs, and their failure to take measures against debtors.
Furthermore, in 2022, prosecutors found that private bailiffs had unlawfully disposed of claimants' money totalling 1.1 billion tenge.
"After funds from debtors were received into current accounts, the private bailiffs withdrew them in cash, transferred them to their own bank deposits and received interest, sent them to their spouses, and disposed of them at their own discretion. Based on the identified facts, police bodies initiated 16 pre-trial investigations under Article 251 of the Criminal Code (abuse of authority by a private bailiff). Subsequently, due to full compensation for the damage, the criminal cases were closed," the statement said.
Following this, the Prosecutor General's Office submitted a proposal to the Minister of Justice regarding the introduction of a control system for the current accounts of private bailiffs. As a result of inspections, the licences of 9 private bailiffs were suspended and revoked, and 55 individuals received disciplinary sanctions.
It is worth recalling that in November last year, the prosecutor's office of the Kostanay region established that bailiffs in the region were not closing enforcement proceedings against deceased debtors. This was despite the law requiring the bailiff to suspend proceedings within one working day in the event of the claimant's death.
In September this year, following a prosecutor's order, 50 private bailiffs were brought to disciplinary responsibility, and proceedings for exclusion from the chamber of bailiffs were initiated against one. As a result of the measures taken, more than 75 million tenge was recovered from debtors.
In May, prosecutors in Taraz uncovered the embezzlement of funds by a private bailiff. He transferred 3.1 million tenge collected from 46 debtors into his own account.