Investigators in Almaty have completed a criminal case into the embezzlement of funds allocated to the Science Fund joint-stock company for the commercialization of scientific developments: the accused has been taken into custody, and her assets worth 830 million tenge have been seized under a court order, the website infohub.kz reports.
According to the Agency for Financial Monitoring, the Almaty department of the AFM concluded the investigation into the director of Bal halal LLP under the coordination of the prosecutor's office.
Investigators say that in 2023–2024, Bal halal LLP received 1.15 billion tenge in financing for four projects involving the production of innovative pasta products made from plant-based raw materials and flour enriched with micronutrients.
The funds were intended for the purchase of equipment, preparation of production facilities, acquisition of raw materials and components, installation and repair work, and the organization of finished-product output. However, investigative experiments established that the purchased equipment cannot produce the goods envisaged by the projects.
Money was siphoned off through SMART 15 LLP, registered to affiliated individuals: 736.4 million tenge was transferred to the company's accounts under the guise of payment for equipment and other services. Other business entities were also involved in the scheme, including Fabrika Reklamy Shymkent LLP, Jana tan LLP and the individual entrepreneur Sisters Brand KZ.
The AFM stressed that oversight of project implementation was purely formal: monitoring reports were drawn up without any actual visits to production sites or verification of the work performed. The documents were also prepared by Bal halal LLP employees and signed by members of the monitoring groups, creating the appearance of proper control over the use of state funds.
According to investigators, after cashing out the money, the suspect deposited 88.5 million tenge in cash into Bal halal LLP's bank accounts in order to legalize the funds, presenting them as her own co-financing of the projects. Total damage amounted to 945 million tenge.
The suspect is currently in custody. Under a court order, her assets worth 830 million tenge have been seized, including five land plots, four cars, an apartment in the capital, a commercial premises and jewelry.