Kazakhstan arrests ex-leader’s nephew on fraud charges

OFFICIALS in Kazakhstan announced on March 13 the arrest of a relative of ex-ruler Nursultan Nazarbayev, in the first known investigation targeting the once-powerful ruling family since bloody political violence in January.

Kazakhstan’s anti-corruption agency said in a statement on its official Telegram channel that businessman and reputed power-broker Kairat Satybaldy had been detained on suspicion of embezzling money from the country’s top telecoms operator and was under investigation for “other crimes breaching the security of the state”.

Satybaldy, one of Kazakhstan’s most influential figures at the point when bloody unrest followed peaceful protests over a New Year gas price hike, is 81-year-old Nazarbayev’s nephew and a reported shareholder in Kazakhtelecom.

The anti-corruption agency’s statement did not state whether or not the other crimes for which Satybaldy was under investigation were connected to this year’s violence.

Nazarbayev stepped down from the Kazakh presidency in 2019 after nearly three decades in office.

He chose career diplomat KassymJomart Tokayev to replace him, but retained key positions for himself and his family members that allowed him to rule from behind the scenes.

Tokayev, 68, has blamed the clashes that left over 200 people dead on bandits and “terrorists” with foreign links, but commentators have linked the chaos instead to a struggle for power at the top of government.

It was announced that Karim Masimov, a long-time Nazarbayev ally, had been detained on coup-plotting charges in the aftermath of the unrest that moved Tokayev to call in troops from the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation security bloc.

The brief mission bolstered the new president’s rule, and Tokayev has since pledged to avoid the kind of constitutional tinkering that allowed Nazarbayev to stay in office as long as he did.

In a belated public appearance during the crisis, Nazarbayev denied any conflict with Tokayev, referring to himself as “a pensioner” who had willingly yielded his remaining power to his successor.

Tokayev in turn said Nazarbayev “did a lot to turn our country into a strong state” despite “possible miscalculations” in the first indication that the former supremo would not personally be investigated over the events.

Nazarbayev’s eldest daughter, 58-year-old Dariga Nazarbayeva, who was once tipped as a potential successor to the strongman, stepped down from her role as a lawmaker last month.