A man accused of car fraud using his official position has been sentenced in Astana, infohub.kz reports.

The Astana Interdistrict Criminal Court said the defendant faced charges under two articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan — embezzlement of entrusted property on an especially large scale (Article 189, Part 4, Clause 2) and large-scale fraud (Article 190, Part 3, Clause 1).

"While working as a sales department manager at a car dealership, A. used forged documents to arrange the illegal removal and sale of 8 vehicles worth a total of 53.1 million tenge. He did not deposit the money received from buyers into the company's cash desk. In addition, in January 2026, A. offered B. the purchase of 3 cars at a reduced price, never intending to fulfill his obligations. After receiving 16.5 million tenge from the buyer, he failed to hand over the vehicles and used the money at his own discretion," the court said, describing the circumstances of the case.

The total damage amounted to 69.6 million tenge, the court noted.

The defendant's guilt was confirmed by testimony from the victims, the victims' representative, witnesses, the defendant's own testimony, physical evidence and the materials of the criminal case.

The prosecutor sought 8 years in prison for the accused. The defendant and his defense asked that the first episode be reclassified from embezzlement to fraud and that a minimum sentence be imposed, citing his remorse and other mitigating circumstances.

"The court reclassified the first episode from embezzlement to fraud, since the vehicles had not been entrusted to the defendant. He did not take them under financial liability, was not responsible for their storage and had no authority to sell them independently or hand them over to buyers," the court added.

In imposing the sentence, the court took into account his remorse, the presence of a young child and the absence of a criminal record. No aggravating circumstances were established.

"Based on the cumulative offenses, the court sentenced A. to 6 years in prison with a ban on holding positions involving the sale of goods and services in commercial organizations for 8 years. The victims' civil claims were satisfied," the court concluded.

The verdict has not yet entered into legal force.