ALMATY (Kazakhstan Pravda) — A State audit in Kazakhstan revealed financial irregularities amounting to 154 bln tenge, the First Deputy Prime Minister-Minister of Finance Alikhan Smailov announced it during a meeting of the Government.

Smailov declared:

According to the results of the audit for the period under review, financial irregularities totalling 154 bln tenge have been identified. 140 bln tenge were recovered during the audit.

According to Smailov, thanks to the cameral control, it was possible to prevent violations in public procurement totalling 465 bln tenge.

Smailov further stated that there will be a shortfall of more than 200 bln tenge in the national budget in 2020 due to the tax exemptions announced by the president for micro and small businesses.

In addition, after a meeting of the Kazakh Government, the Minister of Finance spoke about the country’s debt burden. Indeed, President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev signed a decree on measures to reduce the debt burden of citizens of Kazakhstan.