Ministry of Health Uncovers Illegal Sale of State-Funded Free Medications

The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan has exposed the illicit commercial sale of pharmaceutical products intended for free distribution under the state-guaranteed medical assistance program. The violations were identified following a comprehensive analysis conducted via the national medicine labeling and traceability system.

Since July 1, 2024, the monitoring system has recorded the illegal sale of 4,114 drug units within private pharmacy networks that were originally allocated for the Guaranteed Volume of Free Medical Assistance (GVFMA). Investigations revealed a pattern where medications officially issued to patients through medical organizations were subsequently diverted into the retail market for unauthorized resale.

As part of the state’s regulatory oversight, unscheduled inspections were conducted across 74 facilities. The results are as follows:

• 31 organizations were held administratively liable, with total fines amounting to 12.3 million tenge.

• 43 facilities were issued official directives to rectify identified compliance failures.

Furthermore, the "Electronic Document Management Center for Labeled Goods" platform detected systematic irregularities in the use of identification codes. This includes 35,537 instances of duplicate withdrawal of drugs from circulation and 480,752 cases where a single labeling code was utilized by multiple participants.

All evidence and documentation pertaining to these facts have been formally submitted to the Financial Monitoring Agency and the Anti-Corruption Service of the National Security Committee (NSC) for legal assessment and criminal investigation.

The competent authorities are currently conducting additional audits, and the investigation into the illicit pharmaceutical trade remains ongoing.