Prosecutors in Kazakhstan's Turkistan Region have uncovered three large-scale criminal schemes. According to the authorities, about 200 billion tenge was funneled abroad through shell companies. Additionally, a gang operating at the border extorted money from truck drivers and bribed officials, while cigarettes were illegally smuggled from Kyrgyzstan into the country, reports infohub.kz.
The largest scheme involved illegal money transfers. The Department of Economic Investigations, coordinated by the prosecutor's office, established that approximately 200 billion tenge were transferred to countries near and far abroad through shell companies. An investigation is underway under Article 235-1 of the Criminal Code.
At the same time, law enforcement cracked down on a criminal group operating in the border area. The extortionists robbed truck drivers and passed part of the proceeds from illegal mediation as bribes to officials. Investigators identified 23 individuals involved in the scheme, five of whom have already been arrested.
The third scheme involved tobacco smuggling. Cigarettes were illegally brought in from Kyrgyzstan and sold in Turkistan Region and western regions of Kazakhstan. Law enforcement seized tobacco products worth 103 million tenge.
Previously, it was reported that smuggling in Kazakhstan has reached critical levels. The shadow turnover of Almaty's flea market alone is estimated by market participants at about $3 billion a year. The share of illegal cigarettes on the market, according to forecasts by the international organization TRACIT, could reach 10%. Meanwhile, the budget loses tens of billions of tenge annually due to unpaid excise duties and taxes.