BISHKEK (24.kg) — The convicted general contractor of the reconstruction of Cholpon-Ata hippodrome for the 1^st World Nomad Games in 2014, Erkinbek Mergenbayev, was jailed.

According to the Kyrgyz justice department, Mergenbayev was placed in a temporary detention facility of the Main Internal Affairs Directorate. It is specified that another criminal case is initiated on misuse of funds and unjustifiably inflated prices for the construction of the hippodrome.

Erkinbek Mergenbayev was sentenced to six years in prison. He has served two and a half years, and then was transferred to a penal settlement. His Relatives say that the investigation is being conducted by Aibek Sydykov who was previously disqualified from the case.

Erkinbek Mergenbayev was convicted of smuggling and evading customs duties. According to the Interior Ministry, in 2014, he imported a large amount of plastic seats into the republic without payment of fees to the budget. The damage, according to the investigation, amounted to more than 1,570 mln soms.

In 2014, the company of Mergenbayev received an order for the reconstruction of the hippodrome in Cholpon-Ata. He later blamed the state for refusing to pay for the work done.