In the Pavlodar region, 139 more victims of the HAS financial pyramid, which operated across Kazakhstan three years ago, have been identified. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
The financial pyramid operated in Kazakhstan in 2022–2023. Last year, the court found five accomplices guilty and sentenced them to prison terms ranging from 6 to 12 years.
At that time, 376 victims were identified. It is known that they were defrauded of more than 2 billion tenge in total.
According to the prosecutor's office, the group's organizer was a native of the North Kazakhstan region. Together with accomplices, he attracted money from residents of Astana, Almaty, Pavlodar, Ekibastuz, and other cities.
Investors were promised returns of up to 70%, which became the main way to attract money.
However, after the verdict, the prosecutor's office continued its work and identified another 139 victims. Based on new circumstances, an investigation was conducted, and the case was sent to court again.
"In court, the state prosecutor presented convincing evidence, revealed the mechanism of the criminal scheme and its consequences for the victims. Particular attention was paid to protecting the property interests of citizens and the need to restore violated rights. The court agreed with the position of the state prosecutor: the guilty parties were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
Taking into account the new data, the total number of victims reached 515 people, and the amount of damage — about 3 billion tenge. Part of the funds has already been compensated.
The convicted individuals had property obtained by criminal means confiscated. This includes apartments in Astana and Pavlodar, land plots, 18 cars, and more than 300 million tenge.
Recall that three years ago, Kursiv already reported in detail on how the HAS Holding financial pyramid deceived Kazakhstanis.
A mandatory condition for investors was the purchase of household goods worth 180 thousand tenge. Part of the funds received was used to pay interest to investors. But the organizers also persuaded them to reinvest this money back into the pyramid. Most of the funds received ended up in the organizers' pockets.
According to the AFM, contracts with investors were signed on behalf of Upgrade-AS LLP, Holding AS, Khas-Logistik, light-AS, and other companies. At the same time, the financial pyramid positioned itself as a company engaged in foreign economic activity.