The Almaty department of Kazakhstan’s Financial Monitoring Agency has completed an investigation into the director of Bal halal LLP over the alleged embezzlement of funds allocated to commercialise scientific developments.
In 2023–2024, the company received 1.15 billion tenge for four projects to produce innovative pasta from plant-based raw materials and flour enriched with micronutrients. The funding was intended for equipment, production facilities, raw materials and components, installation and repair work, and the launch of production.
Investigative experiments found that the equipment purchased could not produce the goods specified in the projects. The funds were allegedly diverted through SMART 15 LLP, registered to affiliated individuals. A total of 736.4 million tenge was transferred to the company’s accounts under the guise of payments for equipment and other services.
The investigation also named Fabrika reklamy Shymkent LLP, Jana tan LLP and Sisters Brand KZ sole proprietorship as participants in the scheme. Investigators said project monitoring was merely formal: reports were prepared without visits to production sites or checks of completed work. Bal halal employees prepared the documents, which were signed by members of monitoring groups.
According to investigators, after cashing out the money, the suspect deposited 88.5 million tenge in cash into Bal halal’s bank accounts, presenting it as her own contribution to co-financing the projects. The total damage was estimated at 945 million tenge.
The suspect was remanded in custody. With court approval, assets worth 830 million tenge were seized, including five plots of land, four cars, an apartment in the capital, commercial premises and jewellery. Further information is restricted under Article 201 of Kazakhstan’s Criminal Procedure Code.
