Astana, 20 October. In Astana, after the verdict was read out, three people convicted in the case over the Oasis-Astana housing complex were released from the courtroom; the victims disagree with the verdict and are asking for a review.
According to the shareholders, more than 300 people have invested money in the complex since 2017, but it has still not been completed. The circumstances of the case and the ruling were explained by Astana's inter-district criminal court.
According to the court, the three defendants were originally charged with large-scale fraud. The court considered claims from 275 shareholders totalling 2.5 billion tenge but did not uphold the investigators' version that the entire sum of contributions had been stolen: neither the investigators nor the prosecutors proved that the money had been raised with no intention of fulfilling obligations. During the trial the prosecutor reduced the alleged theft to 1.4 billion tenge, taking into account that flats and premises worth 586 million tenge had been handed to subcontractors for work done and that the cooperative itself had paid 98 million tenge for contract work. The court found that the defendants had hidden from shareholders the real state of construction, the suspension of work, problems with permits and the lack of funding, while continuing to collect contributions; as a result, 275 shareholders did not receive their flats on time.
A housing construction cooperative collects money from future residents to build a home; if construction stops, shareholders are left without money or flats, and damages can be recovered only through the courts and from the property of those responsible. That is why for the victims what matters is not only the punishment but whether their money will be returned.
Background: The shareholders invested money in the complex as early as 2017 and are still waiting for it to be completed.
List of sources used: Informburo, Informburo
Artificial intelligence was used in preparing this material.
