In Aktobe, dozens of clients of a travel company have reported that they were unable to fly out on vacation after paying for their tours. According to the victims, the firm stopped communicating, and the total damage could reach 219 million tenge, reports infohub.kz.

One client, Dinara Katan, said that the victims have collected receipts and other supporting documents. "The total amount of damage is 219 million. We have a list, receipts – everything is available. Everyone has filed a statement. Our demand is that everything be done legally and that our money be returned," she said.

Another client, Asylbek Duisenbekov, said he purchased a family tour to Antalya from August 5 to 13. The flight was supposed to depart from Almaty. "We arrived in Almaty with my family, and they promised to send us tickets. But a day before the flight, we were told that our tour was cancelled. I paid the company about 2 million tenge," he said.

According to the clients, they had planned vacations in Turkey, Egypt, and Georgia. Some had previously used this company's services and successfully traveled abroad, so they returned to it on the recommendations of acquaintances.

Some tourists had purchased their tours in installments and are now continuing to pay off the debt, despite the trips not taking place. In addition, many paid for their own travel to Almaty, where international flights were scheduled.

The victims claim that initially, company employees postponed meetings and promised to resolve the issue with the trips, but later stopped answering calls and messages.

The first police report was filed on August 6. To date, 17 people have officially applied.

The police department of Aktobe region said that a pre-trial investigation is underway on fraud charges. "Operative-search measures are also being carried out to establish the whereabouts of the suspect, whose identity has been established," said Yerbolat Sarkulov, head of the press service of the Aktobe region police department.

The whereabouts of the owner of the travel company are currently being established by law enforcement agencies.