The department of the Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA) in Shymkent has completed an investigation into the embezzlement of budget funds and the legalisation of property at the M. Auezov South Kazakhstan University.
According to the press service of the agency, those under suspicion include: the acting rector, the directors of the financial and administrative departments, as well as the heads of contracting organisations.
The investigation established that the university entered into fictitious contracts for the provision of services, the execution of construction and installation works, and the supply of goods, totalling 256 million tenge.
However, the work was not actually carried out, and the money was transferred to the accounts of affiliated contracting organisations based on false certificates of completed work, and then cashed out.
"With the criminal proceeds, the suspects purchased 6 expensive cars (Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Lexus LX570, etc.) and a luxury cottage in the centre of Shymkent, with a total value of 254 million tenge, which have been seized by court order," the statement said.
A measure of restraint in the form of house arrest was chosen for the four suspects.
It is worth recalling that earlier in Astana, a former university employee was sentenced for defrauding students and their parents of 3 million tenge, having promised to transfer them to grant-funded study.