A criminal case is under investigation in Astana over the embezzlement of citizens' money under the pretext of manufacturing modular kiosks, the website infohub.kz reports.
According to the information and media portal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a 28-year-old woman is suspected of carrying out the embezzlement scheme.
"According to preliminary data, she posted advertisements on the internet offering services for the manufacture and installation of modular structures. Interested citizens contacted her, met in person, discussed the terms and handed over money as payment. After receiving the money, the woman delayed fulfilling her obligations for a long time, citing various circumstances, and subsequently stopped communicating," the ministry's statement said.
It is known that in one of the established episodes, the amount of damage caused was about 5 million tenge. In addition, four more similar episodes have now been identified.
"During operational-search activities, the suspect was detained in another region of the country. A criminal case has been opened on this fact," the Ministry of Internal Affairs added.
Police recommend that citizens exercise caution when concluding transactions via the internet, verify information about contractors and not transfer large sums of money without proper documentation and confirmation of the terms of the transaction.