Serious violations have been identified in the financial operations of Almaty International Airport. During preventive oversight, the Committee of Internal State Audit under Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Finance discovered that dividends totaling 6.8 billion tenge were unlawfully paid to a legal entity that did not hold shareholder status, DKNews.kz reports.
According to auditors, such payments affected the financial stability of a strategically important facility by potentially reducing its assets and limiting its capacity for long-term development.
Funds Returned to the Airport
Following the audit, the full amount of the illegally paid dividends was returned to the airport’s account. The recovered funds will now be used to support the airport’s development, improve service quality and enhance passenger comfort.
Officials emphasized that restoring these funds is not merely a technical correction, but an important step in safeguarding the financial sustainability of one of the country’s key transport hubs.
Shift to Risk-Based State Audit
Chairman of the Committee of Internal State Audit, Yerzhan Mynzhasarov, noted that the violation was identified thanks to new audit approaches introduced in 2025.
Under the revised model, the Committee moved away from mass inspections and adopted a targeted, risk-based approach, focusing on high-risk areas. This shift has significantly increased the effectiveness of state financial control while reducing the administrative burden on compliant entities.
Fewer Inspections, Stronger Results
The impact of the new approach is reflected in recent statistics. Overall, the number of inspections decreased by 22 percent, while the total value of identified violations increased by 36 percent. As a result, each audit became more productive by more than one-third.
By the end of 2025, more than 400 billion tenge had been returned to the state budget, and fines totaling 1.2 billion tenge were collected.
Protecting Strategic Infrastructure
Experts note that the case involving Almaty International Airport highlights a broader shift in state audit policy toward prevention and efficiency rather than formal oversight. Ensuring financial discipline at strategic infrastructure facilities, they say, is critical not only for public finances, but also for service quality, passenger safety and the long-term development of Kazakhstan’s transport system.
