Vice Minister of Health was detained in Kazakhstan

Vice Minister of Health Olzhas Abishev is suspected of embezzling budget funds. According to the Financial Monitoring Committee of the Ministry of Finance, Abishev was detained on August 2 by employees of the Economic Investigation Service. An investigation is underway.

No other information has been reported about the detention of the high-ranking official.

Olzhas Abishev came to the Ministry of Health two years ago – in July 2018. Prior to that, he was the CEO of the Republican Center for eHealth.

Olzhas Abishev just recently appeared in the media and again because of the scandal. In mid-July, the Center for Analysis and Investigation of Cyber Attacks (CAICA) accused the Ministry of Health of leaking personal and medical data of Kazakhstanis. Then Abishev had to take the responsibility. He obviously stated that the information was not true.

“Firstly, the state database of individuals is the information system of the Ministry of Justice, not the Ministry of Health. As for the storage of audio recordings, the current information systems of the Ministry of Health do not have the function of receiving calls from citizens. We do not store audio calls from our citizens. We do not have such a goal, ”Olzhas Abishev said.

It is also worth noting that the detention of Abishev, as well as the leak of medical data, are far from the only scandals shaking the health care system of Kazakhstan. So recently, the Anti-Corruption Agency began a pre-trial investigation against the ex-management of the National Fund for Social Health Insurance Aibatyr Zhumugaulov on the fact of embezzlement of funds “by overstating the cost of purchased services.” Anti-corruption checks are also carried out at SK-Pharmacia.

Another interesting nuance is that Abishev was the vice minister of health under the former head of the department, Yelzhan Birtanov. Birtanov was tested positive for coronavirus in June. On June 25, he announced that he was leaving his post due to the need for additional treatment. However, many Kazakhstanis do not believe that COVID-19 is to blame for personnel changes in the Ministry of Health. There are versions that Birtanov is involved in corruption crimes, and the detention of Olzhas Abishev will give grounds for his arrest as well.

We also recall that on July 21, the head of the Anti-Corruption Agency, Alik Shpekbayev, said that the Anti-Corruption Department had opened two criminal cases against high-ranking officials of the ministries for digital development and education and science projects.