More than 1,100 social institutions in Kazakhstan purchased food at inflated prices, reports the Kapital.kz business information center, citing the press service of the Financial Monitoring Agency.
"Over 1,100 state institutions across the country, including schools, kindergartens, hospitals, orphanages, and other social entities, have been purchasing food at inflated prices. In 2024, the Financial Monitoring Agency identified 817 cases of price inflation on food products, with the materials forwarded to regional commissions," stated the AFM.
As a result of inspections, contracts for public procurement from 685 organizations were reviewed, allowing for savings of over 370 million tenge. The agency is implementing a project aimed at identifying "speculative" schemes and monitoring public institutions in their food procurement processes. The work is conducted using IT tools without interfering in the operations of enterprises. As a result of the efforts, 69 unproductive intermediaries were eliminated, 600 administrative protocols were drawn up, and fines totaling 11 million tenge were paid.
"For instance, in 80 kindergartens in the Aktobe region, the cost of buckwheat, potatoes, carrots, sugar, eggs, and salt was reduced due to measures taken by the AFM Department. For example, a businessman supplied buckwheat to a kindergarten with a markup of over 500%. In Kostanay, 117 social institutions were identified that purchased buckwheat, sugar, onions, potatoes, and eggs with markups of up to 180%. After the intervention of the local AFM Department, supplementary agreements were made in all state institutions in the region, resulting in savings of nearly 60 million tenge. Similar work was carried out in Astana and the Karaganda region across 175 kindergartens, where over 100 million tenge was saved," the report stated.
The Agency emphasized comprehensive measures to prevent unjustified price increases: direct procurement of products by state institutions from producers and large wholesalers; strengthening administrative responsibility for exceeding trade margins, with penalties proportional to the illegally obtained income.