The former director of Astana's City Ambulance Station has been sentenced to nine years in prison for embezzling over 443 million tenge from budget funds. Two other former employees also received prison terms, according to infohub.kz.

The sentence was handed down on July 28 by the Interdistrict Criminal Court of Astana.

According to case materials, from 2020 to 2023, during the state of emergency in Kazakhstan, the station director, along with the head of transport support and the chief mechanic, organized a scheme to steal money. Under the pretext of saving costs and expediting ambulance repairs, they set up an in-house service station, the court's press service reported.

The defendants illegally wrote off spare parts for ambulances and signed repair contracts with a contractor who performed no actual work. As a result, the enterprise suffered damages exceeding 443 million tenge, which the court found were misappropriated.

Additionally, another employee stole enterprise property worth over 268,000 tenge in 2023, abusing his official position.

The former director and his two colleagues pleaded not guilty and asked to be acquitted. However, the court found their involvement confirmed by witness testimony, expert reports, physical evidence, and other case materials. The court considered it an aggravating factor that the crime was committed during a state of emergency. The 443 million tenge in damages remain unrecovered.

The former director was sentenced to nine years in prison and a lifetime ban from holding public office. The head of transport support and the chief mechanic each received eight years with the same lifetime ban. A fourth defendant received two years of restricted freedom but was released under an amnesty after admitting guilt, compensating the damages, and reconciling with the victim.

The court also fully granted a civil lawsuit to recover over 443 million tenge from the convicts. The verdict has not yet entered into force.

Earlier, Kursiv reported on how the Prosecutor General's Office overturned an amnesty for an accountant who stole over 80 million tenge.