Authorities in the Turkistan Region have shut down several criminal schemes involving smuggling, extortion, corruption, and illegal transfers of funds abroad, reports infohub.kz.
The Department of Economic Investigations for the Turkistan Region uncovered the illegal transfer of approximately 200 billion tenge abroad through shell companies. A pre-trial investigation has been launched under Article 235-1, Part 3 of the Criminal Code ("Illegal export, shipment, and transfer of currency valuables from the Republic of Kazakhstan").
Additionally, the prosecutor's office reported the closure of a smuggling channel for tobacco products from Kyrgyzstan. According to investigators, cigarettes were illegally brought into the Turkistan Region and then sold locally and in western Kazakhstan. During operations, authorities seized tobacco products worth 103 million tenge. An investigation is underway under Article 214 of the Criminal Code ("Illegal entrepreneurship").
Another case involved a criminal group that allegedly extorted money from truck drivers in the border area. The prosecutor's office said the investigation found that some of the funds from illegal intermediary activities were paid as bribes to state officials. A pre-trial investigation is ongoing. Twenty-three individuals have been identified as involved in the scheme, five of whom are in custody.
Earlier, Kazakhstan disrupted a transnational group involved in the illegal import and sale of unmarked tobacco products. The group used the informal money transfer system "Hawala" for payments.