A transnational organized criminal group involved in the illegal import and sale of unmarked tobacco products in Kazakhstan has been detained in the Zhambyl region. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.
According to the Financial Monitoring Agency, a resident of the Zhambyl region organized an illegal supply channel for tobacco products from the Kyrgyz Republic and sold the goods through subordinate individuals. The counterfeit products were sold through retail outlets in Taraz, as well as shipped to Almaty, Shymkent, Karaganda, Aktobe, East Kazakhstan and Turkestan regions.
During the investigation, more than 30 searches were conducted, and over 319,000 packs of unmarked tobacco products worth a total of 293 million tenge were seized from illegal circulation. The amount of unpaid excise taxes amounted to 115 million tenge.
The transnational organized criminal group included citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic who ensured the delivery of goods and mutual settlements. To conceal the movement of criminal proceeds, group members used the informal "Hawala" settlement system, which allows money transfers outside the banking system.
By court order, three vehicles used for transporting products were seized, and five suspects were taken into custody. The investigation is ongoing.
How the Hawala system works: a person gives money to a broker in their country; the broker provides a secret code or password; the code is given to the recipient in another country; the recipient tells the code to a broker in that country and receives the money; later, the brokers settle accounts with each other.