Former national security official involved in fraud and illegal migration detained

A former national security officer involved in fraud and facilitating illegal migration has been detained in Bishkek. This was reported by the State Committee for National Security of the Kyrgyz Republic.

As part of measures to combat illegal labour migration, the State Committee for National Security identified a sewing workshop in Bishkek, located on Shcherbakova Street, where 20 foreign nationals from one of the South Asian countries were living and working. It was established that these individuals were in the Kyrgyz Republic and were working without the appropriate permits.

During the inspection, it was established that the tenant of the premises had transferred a significant amount of money to a citizen who introduced himself as a current employee of the national security services. The latter promised to assist in legalising the migrant workers and to «cover» them from possible checks by the competent authorities.

It was subsequently documented that the citizen in question had no connection with the State Security Service of the Kyrgyz Republic and had previously been dismissed from the security services. Despite this, he continued to maintain contact with the victim, delayed the fulfilment of his promises and convinced her that the situation could be resolved.

As part of the operational search measures, the partial return of the money was recorded, which was confirmed by audio and video materials. Subsequently, the suspect began to evade communication and failed to fulfil his obligations in full.

Based on the victim's statement, a criminal case was initiated on the grounds of a crime under Article 209, Part 4, Paragraph 4 of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic («Fraud committed on an especially large scale»).

The suspect was detained in the capital and placed in a temporary detention facility of the State Security Service of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Investigative and operational measures are currently underway to identify other persons involved in the illegal activities, as well as possible episodes of similar fraud.