The country's third-largest metropolis has once again found itself in crime reports. It seems that not long ago, the Agency for Financial Monitoring (AFM) reported a corruption scandal at the South Kazakhstan University named after Auezov, one of the country's prestigious and well-known higher education institutions, where, according to the agency, damage amounting to 321 million tenge was caused. For instance, a single chair was purchased for 20 million tenge despite having a market value of no more than 200 thousand. To conceal such fictitious purchases, the suspects continued to use decommissioned equipment that was formally no longer on the university's balance sheet.

CORRUPTION IN REMOTE FORMAT

Now, the AFM has announced the completion of an investigation in Shymkent into a case that shocks not so much by the scale of embezzlement—1.3 billion tenge (a colossal sum for the education sector)—but by the cynicism and technique of the crime. The organizer of the scheme spent three years leading the process of cashing out budget funds while... in prison. This forces us to once again reflect on how deeply corrupt schemes have become embedded in the metropolitan system and how quickly moral norms give way to greed and insatiable self-interest.

ANATOMY OF "DEAD SOULS"

The essence of the scheme, which operated from 2018 to 2023, is staggering in its simplicity and "brilliance." The founder of two colleges—a medical college and a humanities-finance college—organized fictitious training of "students," cleverly exploiting state funds allocated for workforce training, teacher salaries, stipends, and the material-technical base. In reality, the money went into the organizers' pockets. Students, if they existed at all, existed only "on paper," and state-funded slots served as a trough. Some fee-paying students at the medical college were fraudulently enrolled as state-funded students. It was also established that the South Kazakhstan Humanities-Finance College effectively did not function and was used solely as a formal structure to receive budget financing.

The stolen money was used to purchase elite cars and real estate, including abroad: by court order, all property "acquired through backbreaking labor"—three apartments, including one in Dubai, three residential houses, and three cars—has been seized. Two suspects have been remanded in custody, while three others are under a written undertaking not to leave the area and to behave properly.

What adds particular cynicism to this situation is the fact that the woman, having previously been convicted for a similar crime, not only continued her criminal activity but did so from behind bars. An office in a prison cell. Prison walls proved no obstacle for this enterprising and "fearless" woman; only her work schedule changed. As the AFM reported, "The accomplices included college directors, accountants, and other affiliated persons. Citizens were formally enrolled in educational institutions but did not actually study. This allowed them to receive funding under the state educational procurement program and workforce retraining programs."

The criminals issued fictitious enrollment and employment orders, used electronic digital signatures to authenticate documents, and drew up sham work completion acts.

As mentioned above, some fee-paying students at the medical college were fraudulently enrolled as state-funded students. This indicates the existence of an extensive network of accomplices on the outside who diligently followed the instructions of the woman behind bars. In the 21st century, with mobile communications and access to the management of legal entities, physical absence from the crime scene is no obstacle.

WHY DID THE SYSTEM FAIL FOR FIVE YEARS?

Thus, the crime lasted from 2018 to 2023. That is a full five-year period, covering the time before and after the pandemic. During this time, oversight bodies undoubtedly inspected—or at least should have inspected—the colleges repeatedly. The question is: how could they fail to notice that students weren't studying, teachers weren't working, and money was disappearing into nowhere?

The answer lies in the scheme's corruption-based resilience. It is not by chance that inspectors turned a blind eye to the inactivity, falsified reports, and forged attendance records.

The situation is exacerbated by the fact that this concerns a medical college. Graduates of these institutions (even if fictitious) could potentially receive diplomas and go to work in the healthcare system. The embezzlement of budget funds here directly borders on a threat to the lives and health of citizens, as the quality of workforce training suffers from sham specialists.

1.3 billion tenge is an amount comparable to the annual budget of a small district. This money could have built several modern schools or equipped rehabilitation centers. But the reputational damage is even heavier. When such news comes to light, citizens' trust in the state education system plummets. People begin to believe that money allocated to schools and colleges is inevitably stolen.

The AFM saw the investigation through to the end, despite the difficulty of proving crimes committed remotely. The fact that the case has been concluded and that the perpetrator (even while in a correctional facility) will again be punished shows that impunity, albeit delayed, is not forever. But that brings little comfort to anyone.

The story of the Shymkent colleges is not just a crime chronicle. It is a marker of the state of society. As long as people serving sentences continue to manage billions of tenge from behind bars, it seems that urgent mechanisms are needed for asset freezing and control over convicted legal entities. Also, legislation should prohibit individuals with unexpunged convictions for economic crimes from founding educational institutions or remotely signing financial documents. And there must be accountability from top to bottom for those whose official duty it was to genuinely inspect and control, to prevent such flagrant outrages. Why did they deliberately turn a blind eye for all five years? Where are the structures responsible for checking the quality of education? How could a prison cell become a kind of office? Shouldn't the colony provide absolute isolation from business and financial flows?

People are justifiably sharing their indignation. While flaying ordinary citizens alive, tightening the tax noose, and raising prices, why are state agencies not tracking such illicit financial schemes?

In their comments, users write: "The South Kazakhstan Medical College effectively did not function, but it issued diplomas! A MEDICAL college!!! But the conversation is not just about financial violations. And those who received diplomas there—where are they now? Are they 'treating'—or rather, maiming—us? And we protect them from all sides by law." "When diplomas become commodities and positions become items of trade, not only the system suffers. Without strict control, transparency, and inevitable punishment for selling diplomas and corruption in medicine, it will be difficult to restore people's trust."

SOCIAL AND ETHICAL CONSEQUENCES OF "SHAM" DIPLOMAS

A medical worker's diploma is not just proof of graduation from an educational institution. It is a document that grants its holder the right to access a patient's life and health. A medical college that, for selfish gain, hands out "sham" diplomas (without real training or assessment) sets off a chain reaction of irreversible consequences.

It is clear that a graduate who bought a diploma as a nurse or paramedic lacks basic skills: they cannot give injections, perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or recognize the symptoms of an acute condition. A mistake by such a specialist could cost a person's life. In a hospital, on an ambulance team, or in a treatment room, such a diploma becomes a time bomb. Patients who trust the white coat have no idea that they are being treated by someone whose qualifications are a fiction.

DEFORMATION OF THE PROFESSION

Medicine rests on the professionalism of doctors and healthcare workers and on patients' trust in their competence. The sham diploma scandal undermines that trust; society begins to doubt every medical worker. Fearing that they might encounter a "fake doctor," people will hesitate to go to medical facilities, leading to advanced forms of diseases and other consequences.

The ability to buy a diploma for money devalues the work of medical professionals, undermines professional reputation, breeds demotivation and staff turnover, and drives true professionals into private practice.

A sham diploma from a medical college is not just a paper fraud scheme. By issuing a worthless diploma, the college administration effectively becomes an accomplice to future misfortunes, dooming real people to suffering and the negligent "specialist" to lifelong guilt or even a prison sentence for negligence.

Once again, the Ministry of Health should take a serious interest in this vicious practice of "training" personnel by inspecting and re-certifying educational institutions operating in this field—or checking whether they operate at all. Combating this phenomenon requires not only criminal prosecution but also the creation of a system for independent assessment of graduates' knowledge and fostering public intolerance toward the very idea of buying a medical education. The nation's health is too precious to be traded for fake diplomas.

The education authorities themselves must finally respond to these increasingly frequent corruption cases. Because this, unfortunately, is not an isolated incident but a system. For example, in Astana, a similarly "fearless" woman—a school director—was recently sentenced for embezzling about 900 million tenge along with an accountant. And there is no guarantee that she too will not open an "office" from behind bars... But we will report on that in our next issue.

Akmaral ABDULLOVA

Zanmedia.kz