NUR-SULTAN
A court in Kazakhstan’s capital has ordered a nephew of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev to be held in pre-trial detention on charges of embezzlement, the latest and most dramatic measure to underscore a drive to move the country away from the influence and legacy of its first post-Soviet president.
Nursultan Nazarbayev served as the central Asian country’s leader from before the collapse of Soviet rule until 2019, when he handed power to a handpicked successor, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. He retained sweeping powers despite stepping down, though measures adopted by Toqayev since January’s deadly riots have removed him and his family from virtually all positions of authority.
Tokayev was due to deliver his annual state of the nation address on Wednesday.
Nazarbayev’s nephew, Kairat Satybaldy, was detained late last week as he tried to leave Kazakhstan’s commercial capital, Almaty, for Dubai, said Olzhas Bektenov, the head of Kazakhstan’s anti-corruption agency. He was subsequently transferred to the capital, Nur-Sultan.
Satybaldy was detained as Nazarbayev appeared in public for the first time in more than two months at a diplomatic conference in Turkey and met Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Anti-corruption officials said the embezzlement charges related to funds from the Kazakhtelekom company.
Several of the former president’s relatives or associates have been dismissed since the January unrest, in which 230 people were killed, according to official accounts. But Satuybadyuly’s detention was the first arrest of a family member.
Just days after the January protests, Nazarbayev’s two sons-in-law, Qairat Sharipbayev and Dimash Dosanov, were pushed out of top jobs at two major state companies, QazaqGaz and KazTransOil, respectively.
The National Chamber of Entrepreneurs, Atameken, announced the resignation of its chairman, Timur Kulibayev, who is also Nazarbayev’s son-in-law.
And late last month, Nazarbayev’s daughter, Darigha Nazarbaeva said she was giving up her parliamentary seat.
Satybaldy’s younger brother, Samat Abish was first deputy head of the KNB security service until the January events – after which it was initially announced that he had been arrested, news that was later denied by the security forces. He was, however, dismissed from his post,
According to some Kazakhstan media, Satybaldy owned the offshore company Skyline Investment, which holds 22.01 percent of all Kazakhtelekom shares.
Parliament examines January unrest
Kazakhstan’s parliament devoted its session on Monday to accounts by senior officials of the January unrest, which started as a protest against fuel price increases in the west of the country and turned into waves of discontent over income disparities and corruption, with many protesters deriding Nazarbayev.
Clashes engulfed Almaty, with demonstrators seizing and setting fire to public buildings as the country’s institutions teetered.
Tokayev issued a “shoot on sight” order and called in Russian-led troops of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation to help quell the upheaval.
Among those facing charges of treason and attempting to seize power are the head of the KNB security service, Karim Masimov, three of his deputies and several senior officials.
“We believe that the courts will give their assessment in their ruling. These charges carry sentences of 17 years in prison. But the investigation is continuing,” General Prosecutor Berik Asylov told the chamber.
No official list of those killed has yet been published as investigators look into the identity of the victims. And no announcement has yet been made on who may have helped foment the unrest in Almaty.
Fifteen cases of treason have been brought, along with 46 charges of terrorism and 243 of torture or exceeding authority in proceeding with investigations.