Lebanese businessman sentenced to 6 years 8 months for defrauding Kazakhstan Health Ministry of 14 billion tenge
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A court in Almaty sentenced 56-year-old Lebanese citizen Zogbi Fernand, owner and director of Farmaktiv LLP, to 6 years and 8 months in prison for defrauding the Ministry of Health and SK-Pharmacia of more than 14 billion tenge. The businessman organized a fictitious production of medical devices, passing off imported goods as Kazakhstani-made. The court also ordered the recovery of over 15 billion tenge and seized his assets.
Key Facts
- Zogbi Fernand, 56, a Lebanese citizen and director of Farmaktiv LLP, was sentenced to 6 years and 8 months in prison for fraud.
- The total damage to the Ministry of Health and SK-Pharmacia exceeded 14 billion tenge.
- The court ordered recovery of over 15 billion tenge from the convicted businessman and seized his funds, relatives' accounts, real estate, and cars.
- In 2017, Farmaktiv LLP signed a 10-year contract with SK-Pharmacia worth 17 billion tenge for the supply of medical devices.
- The company evaded over 500 million tenge in VAT by using the status of a domestic producer.
The Fraud Scheme
Fernand's company sold glucose monitoring systems for about ten years. To gain an advantage in public procurement, he obtained registration certificates and CT-KZ certificates from the Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs. In 2017, the Kazakhstani certificate allowed Farmaktiv LLP to sign a 10-year contract with SK-Pharmacia for 17 billion tenge. However, there was no actual production in Kazakhstan; ready-made devices and test-strip sheets were imported and manually cut, processed, and packaged under the CodeFree brand. The products were supplied to medical institutions under the guaranteed volume of free medical care.
Investigation and Verdict
The scheme was uncovered by the National Security Committee (KNB), and the entrepreneur was detained in 2025. In court, the foreigner pleaded not guilty, but his subordinates confirmed the forgery of documents for government agencies and signing contracts for third parties on direct orders from management. The court found Zogbi Fernand guilty of fraud and sentenced him to 6 years and 8 months in prison. The sentence has not yet entered into legal force.
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Lebanese businessman sentenced to 6 years 8 months for defrauding Kazakhstan Health Ministry of 14 billion tenge
