127 Million KZT Embezzled During Almaty Metro Construction Recovered to State Budget

The Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan has announced the successful recovery of 127 million KZT previously embezzled during the construction of the Almaty Metro.

 The funds were identified and reclaimed following a comprehensive audit conducted under cassation proceedings. According to the department, a portion of the stolen capital was discovered in the bank accounts of a separate legal entity. Based on the Prosecutor’s cassation appeal, prior court rulings were amended, and the funds were officially transferred to the state revenue.

This recovery follows the 2024 conviction of several high-ranking officials from the "Metropolitan" State Enterprise and executives from contracting organizations for the misappropriation of budget funds. Investigation materials revealed that the defendants engaged in financial fraud during the construction and equipment procurement phases of the metro stations. Between 2018 and 2020, the suspects artificially inflated the costs of equipment for the "Saryarka" and "Dostyk" stations, subsequently siphoning the funds through shell companies.

The Prosecutor’s Office further noted that the primary defendants in the case have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from 7 to 8 years. The total volume of embezzled funds associated with this criminal activity is estimated to exceed 5 billion KZT.