Dozens of clients of a travel company in Aktobe said they could not fly on vacation after paying for tours, with total damage possibly reaching 219 million tenge. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
One of the clients, Dinara Katan, said that the victims have collected receipts and other supporting documents.
"The total amount of damage is 219 million. We have a list, receipts - everything is available. Everyone has filed a statement. Our demand is that everything be legal and that our money be returned," she said.
Another client, Asylbek Duisenbekov, said he purchased a family tour to Antalya from August 5 to 13. The flight was supposed to depart from Almaty.
"We arrived in Almaty with my family, we were promised to send tickets. But a day before the flight, we were told that our tour was cancelled. I paid the company about 2 million tenge," he said.
According to the clients, they planned vacations in Turkey, Egypt, and Georgia. Some had previously used this company's services and successfully traveled abroad, so they turned to it again on the recommendations of acquaintances.
Some tourists purchased tours in installments and are still paying off the debt despite the trips not taking place. Additionally, many paid for their own travel to Almaty, where international flights were scheduled.
The victims claim that initially company employees postponed meetings and promised to resolve the issue with the trips, but later stopped answering calls and messages.
The first statement to the police was filed on August 6. So far, 17 people have officially applied.
The police department of Aktobe region reported that a pre-trial investigation is underway on charges of fraud.
"Operational-search measures are also being carried out to establish the whereabouts of the suspect, whose identity has been established," said Yerbolat Sarkulov, head of the press service of the Aktobe region police department.
The whereabouts of the owner of the travel company are currently being established by law enforcement agencies.