December 19, 2022

The Mazhilis approved fines for civil servants and their spouses in case of discrepancies in expenses and income

Deputies of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan approved in the second reading the draft Law of the RoK “On amendments and additions to some legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on anti-corruption issues”, as the correspondent of MIA Kazinform reported.

The bill introduces control over the compliance of expenses and incomes of civil servants, persons equated to them, and their spouses. Fiscal and career sanctions are also being imposed. Sanctions will be applied only for significant discrepancies. So, if the amount of the discrepancy between expenses and income exceeds a thousandfold the size of the minimum calculated indicator, an administrative fine of 90% of the amount of the discrepancy will be imposed on the civil servant. If the amount of the discrepancy between expenses and income exceeds the annual income of a civil servant, then he is subject to dismissal from public service for negative reasons.

At the same time, in each case, the person will be given the opportunity to justify the legality of the expenses.

These novelties are planned to be put into effect from 2027, taking into account the full-scale coverage of the population by universal declaration. In 2025, all citizens of the republic will report on the amount of their income, and from 2026 the process of comparing their expenses with income will begin.

The second set of amendments is aimed at forming a system of protection of persons who have reported facts of corruption. It is proposed that they cannot be brought to disciplinary responsibility, dismissed from office or transferred to another position without the recommendations of the conciliation commission. Information about the assistance provided by a person in combating corruption will be classified as confidential with the introduction of criminal liability for its disclosure.

During the discussion of the bill within the working group, deputies made a number of changes and additions. Thus, the Labor Code proposes to consolidate the right of an employee to conclude an agreement with an employer on non-disclosure of information on assistance in combating corruption. The Labor Code is supplemented by the grounds for termination of the employment contract at the initiative of the employer in case of non-compliance of the employee’s expenses with his income.

It is proposed to oblige an applicant for a position in the quasi-public sector related to the performance of functions equated to the state to provide a certificate from the authorized body for legal statistics and special accounting.

An amendment has been made to introduce a ban on engaging in entrepreneurial and other paid activities for persons engaged in activities in quasi-public sector entities related to the performance of functions equated to state ones.

It is also proposed to prohibit close relatives, spouses and relatives from holding positions in the governing bodies of a quasi-public sector entity.