“Kazakhgate” of Nursultan Nazarbaev

In Kazakhstan, a great scandal is flaring up, connected with Nursultan Nazarbaev and his relatives’ accounts in foreign banks. Local “opposition” newspapers called this scandal “Kazakhgate.” While Russian, as well as foreign press, from clear reasons (politics and business) pass over in silence this subject. Though, despite all efforts of Kazakh side, the scandal still came to the surface. Thank God, not everybody is indifferent. Novaya Gazeta devoted an article to this subject, called “What do Swiss Dwarfs keep secret?” According to the newspaper, on accounts of Dinara Kulibaeva, Nursultan Nazarbaev’s daughter and wife of main Kazakh “oilman” Timur Kulibaev, there are hundreds million dollars. Kazakhstan is rich in oil and gas, while foreign companies dreaming about doing business in Kazakhstan needed protectors. According to the Kazakh newspaper Vremya Po, Nazarbaev opened the locks for the most cynical bribe-taking through creating a powerful family and clannish group controlling leading spheres of the republic’s economy. Yachts, villas and expensive cars became the sign of Kazakh elite’s life standard, while most of the people drag out a miserable existence. According to Le Soir Swiss newspaper, in evidence of Swiss low-enforcement bodies, ten main and about two dozens of auxiliary companies and funds are mentioned, through which the Nazarbaevs and their surrounding pumped over money to Geneva banks. Therefore, a great scandal appeared. So to calm heated brains, the Kazakh President who had not reacted to all these accusations, decided that attack was the best defence. Nursultan Nazarbaev called the foreign banks to transferring money from “his accounts” to building of Astana. This was reported by Kazakh Prime-Minister Imangali Tasmagambetov in the parliament April 4. According to Nazarbaev’s instruction, Tasmagambetov said that the President did not have personal accounts abroad. “If even there are such accounts, money was transferred to them to defile his good name.” This is why, the world banks should transfer money to Kazakh capital’s building, the Prime-Minister stressed. It should be noticed that the Prime-Minister’s speech was not a spontaneous reaction of high functionary to the scandal. The question is that March 13, the group of deputies of the Kazakh parliament’s Low House sent an inquiry to the Prime-Minister asking to lift the veil in the story with these great sums as if placed on the accounts in foreign banks. The power took the gauntlet. So, new resignations should be expected, as well as new conspiracies against Kazakh number one.

Dmitry Chirkin PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Vera Solovieva