Suspect detained for allegedly defrauding residents with apartment renovation promises

Bishkek police have detained a man accused of taking advance payments to renovate an apartment, then disappearing without doing the promised work.

The case began after a resident contacted the investigative service of the Pervomaisky District Police Department on August 14. The applicant said he had signed an agreement on May 21 with a man identified as M.A. to completely renovate an apartment on Gagarin Street. The contract was worth 736,000 soms.

According to the complaint, the suspect gained the resident’s trust and received 700 US dollars in cash and 159,585 soms by bank transfer as an advance. Police say the total amount taken was 220,800 soms, after which the promised work was not carried out.

More than 10 other residents have also contacted law enforcement, saying they suffered from similar actions. The total damage is still being determined. Police opened a criminal case under Article 209 of the Kyrgyz Criminal Code, which covers fraud.

During investigative and operational-search measures, Pervomaisky district officers identified and detained a suspect born in 1997. He was taken to the investigative service and placed in temporary detention under Articles 96 and 97 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Police are asking anyone with information about the suspect’s alleged activities, or anyone who may have been affected, to file a complaint.