A major corruption case has shaken Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan, where a former head of a dairy company was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison for embezzling state subsidies intended for milk production.

According to the court, the businessman received nearly 334 million tenge in government funds by submitting falsified documents between 2022 and 2023, The Caspian Post reports via Kazakh media.

The paperwork claimed inflated purchases of raw milk from private suppliers for processing in Kazakhstan’s Almaty and Zhetysu regions.

Investigators found that the reported milk volumes were never actually processed, and the funds were diverted for unrelated purposes. Tax inspectors also discovered fake production reports, including fabricated data on butter manufacturing.

One of the most striking details of the case is that around 110 million tenge of the stolen funds were reportedly lost by the defendant in casinos.

The Agency for Financial Monitoring stated that the reports contained false information about milk procurement and dairy output.

In addition to the prison sentence, the court banned the defendant from holding financially responsible positions for seven years and ordered full compensation for the damages. The verdict has not yet taken legal effect.