In Almaty, entrepreneurs complain about suppliers who, according to them, received advance payments but failed to fulfill their obligations. The applicants estimate the total damage at more than 80 million tenge. Police have opened a criminal case. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
Entrepreneur Dilyara Mendeva said that in July she ordered canisters for gasoline. She found the seller on a marketplace, then came to the office and signed a contract. According to her, she paid more than 8 million tenge, but has not yet received the goods. The situation also affected her personal life.
"My business partner, who was also supposed to be my future husband, proposed to me, but we never got married because of this whole situation. We gave them a lot of money, and it affected both our financial relations and our personal relationship," Mendeva said.
A training center faced a similar problem. Its head, Vladimir Poznyakov, said that two years ago he found a supplier through an online advertisement and ordered goods worth 4.5 million tenge. Within the set deadline, the center received only half of the order. The rest was promised to be delivered later, but according to the entrepreneur, this did not happen.
"The court took place, where we were recognized as victims, and they were issued a ruling to compensate all of us for the damage. That is, a year and seven months have passed, and we still have not received either the refund or the goods they were supposed to supply," Poznyakov said.
According to the applicants, they approached various suppliers, and later found out that the companies were registered under one name. The firms offered various goods — from New Year trees to sports mattresses. Lawyer Azhar Aymagambetova estimated the total amount of claims against the related companies at more than 80 million tenge.
The entrepreneurs claim that they first tried to resolve the issue peacefully, and then went to court. When buyers came to the office to demand a refund, the doors were closed.
The director of the trading companies, in a conversation with journalists, refused to comment in detail on the claims, citing the ongoing investigation.
The Almaty Police Department confirmed that an investigation is underway based on the buyers' statements.
"Eight people have filed complaints with the police, all of them have been recognized as victims. Currently, a set of operational and investigative measures is being carried out," said the department's official representative, Saltanat Azirbek.
The entrepreneurs are looking for other buyers who might have faced a similar situation. In their opinion, the number of victims could be higher.