A district criminal court in Astana has handed down a verdict in the case of a transnational organized criminal group: 24 defendants were found guilty and each sentenced to 8 years in prison. This is reported by infohub.kz.
According to the official website of the prosecutor's office of the Karaganda region, state prosecutors ensured a comprehensive and objective examination of the evidence.
The court established that the members acted in concert, each was assigned a specific role, and their actions were coordinated by the organizers. Most of the members came to Kazakhstan from Russia. Some individuals, on the instructions of the organizers, traveled to Russia to obtain equipment.
Recruits were mainly found through Telegram. They were instructed to travel to a specific city, rent housing, receive or deliver a SIM-box, connect the equipment to the internet, install SIM cards from Kazakh operators and ensure their uninterrupted operation. In return, members received payment of 50 to 100 US dollars per day.
The key evidence was Telegram correspondence found on the convicted individuals' phones. It contained instructions on installing and maintaining the equipment, replacing SIM cards, completing tasks and providing reports to coordinators.
"It was established that fraudulent calls were made to citizens through phone numbers connected to the SIM-box. The perpetrators posed as employees of government agencies, banks, Kazpost JSC and other organizations, obtained confirmation codes from citizens, and persuaded them to take out loans and transfer money. Despite the defendants denying their guilt, the evidence presented by the prosecutor's office confirmed the defendants' involvement in organized criminal activity," the supervisory authority said.
The verdict has not yet entered into legal force.