Unlawful Social Payments Led to 1.2 Billion Tenges in Damages: AFM Report

In a series of shocking revelations, Kazakhstan's Financial Monitoring Agency (AFM) has uncovered a complex web of corruption involving the misuse of budget funds for social assistance programs.

The main bookkeeper in the scheme is reported to have included trusted individuals in the lists of recipients, despite them not belonging to vulnerable categories. Payment orders were issued, signed by management, and transferred to the accounts of straw men for cashing out and distribution among accomplices.

Two high-profile cases have emerged from this scandal. Duisenova was sentenced to five years in prison for embezzling 98 million tenge in the Shymkent region, while Umerbekova and Baimurzaeva were sentenced to six years for embezzling 487 million tenge of budget funds in the Aktobe region.

Ten cases of illegal maternity and childbirth allowance payments were investigated, resulting in illegal payments totaling 1 billion tenge. The mechanism of the crimes involved the fake employment of pregnant women in specially created individual entrepreneurs (IEs), backdating large social and pension contributions to qualify for higher payments.

The AFM reported 13 pre-trial investigations in 2024-2025 regarding illegal social benefit payments, with a total loss of 1.2 billion tenge. The total value of fake invoices sought by the AFM is 4 billion tenge, issued over a 10-year period.

The focus of the article shifts to a separate issue: the search for individuals who issued fake invoices. Three pre-trial investigations have been launched against 15 officials from employment and social programs departments of local administrations. However, the article does not provide specific details about who issued the fake invoices or any related arrests or sentences.

Since 2023, the digitization of document processing and status assignment for vulnerable individuals through the eGov portal has prevented manipulations. Changes have also been made to the existing rules: pension contributions paid retroactively are no longer considered when determining benefits.

In a positive development, since 2023, various regional administration officials in Germany, including those from state auditors' offices and internal affairs departments, have conducted preliminary investigations into fraud scandals involving the misuse of budget funds for social assistance programs. The Financial Monitoring Agency has sent proposals to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection to address the identified violations and conditions that facilitated the crimes.

Despite these ongoing investigations and reforms, it is clear that Kazakhstan still has a long way to go in ensuring the integrity and transparency of its social assistance programs. The fight against corruption continues.