Voice of Democracy
Published by Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation · Washington, D.C. May, 27 , 2003

HA, HA, YOU CAN'T TOUCH ME -- Facing an array of criminal charges in the United States and Switzerland for stealing from the Kazakh people through bribery, corruption and abuse of power, Kazakhstan's dictator pushed through his puppet parliament a law granting himself lifetime powers and immunity from prosecution, reports Human Rights Watch. The legislation, says HRW, gives Nazarbayev "lifetime powers, including rights to remain on the powerful Kazakh Security Council, to head the parliamentary assembly of Kazakh peoples, to make national addresses on television and before parliament, to attend government meetings, to advise any future president on policy matters, and to immunity from prosecution. http://www.hrw.org/wr2k1/special/corporations2.html

BRIBERY IS BUSINESS AS USUAL -- When it comes to human rights and corruption, Kazakhstan's ruling elite have never been considered "particularly enlightened," says RFE/RL's Organized Crime and Terrorism Watch. Nursultan Nazarbayev, the last communist boss and the only president the country has had, has been responsible for a "dismally high level of corruption." The authoritarian dictator has "spawned an opposition that operates mainly outside the country to avoid harassment -- or worse," it adds. Various human rights groups -- Transparency International, Human Rights Watch, Freedom House -- consistently rate Kazakhstan among the worst violators. He has enacted laws making information his and his family's economic interests state secrets. The regime's corruption and repression are interrelated. Nazarbayev is up to his neck in a scandal involving hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes, illegal payments and laundered money from the sale of oil and gas exploration contracts. His chief accomplice was his advisor, James H. Giffen, a New York banker who has been indicted on multiple charges of tax evasion, illegal payments and bribery. The money, according to the Wall Street Journal, went to Nazarbayev and his former Prime Minister Nurlan Balgimbaev. Among the payments passed on to Nazarbayev was a power boat in Long Island from Giffen. As part of a cover-up, "the Nazarbayev government took action to undermine freedom of speech, assembly, and association in Kazakhstan in order to prevent independent media from reporting such activities and to deny Kazakh citizens the right to express their opinions and change their government," RFE/RL reported, based on a study by Human Rights Watch. The bribery scandal suggests "doing business in Kazakhstan is fraught with political booby traps for U.S. companies," warns an article on RFE/RL. In an attempt to block the investigation, Nazarbayev's attorney threatened the U.S. Justice Department that if it continues to "aggressively investigate" his client and possibly indict him, relations between the two countries would "deteriorate." http://www.rferl.org/bd/ka/

BEG YOUR PARDON -- When former Kazakh energy minister and opposition leader was unexpectedly pardoned and released from prison, he told reporters that he was permanently leaving politics and he took a parting shot at the opposition. He called the opposition irrelevant and criticized its platforms and methods of operation. He denied that he'd made a deal for his freedom after serving 10 months of a six-year sentence. Mukhtar Ablyazov had been convicted on corruption charges that the U.S. government and others considered politically motivated. He said he did not admit his guilt nor deny it in his application for a pardon. http://www.afp.com/english/home/

IT TAKES A THIEF -- There was a time not so long ago when Swiss bankers were only too glad to help dictators hide the money they steal from their own people, but lately they've been feeling the heat. Various international investigations exposed Swiss bankers as virtual partners in crime due to their coveted bank secrecy laws. Now Swiss prosecutors and judges are investigating the banks, reports Le Temps, and countries are demanding restitution of the stolen funds. Several cases are coming under the international spotlight, including Sani Abacha, the Nigerian dictator who died in 1998, former Peruvian official Vladimiro Montesinos, and Kazakh dictator Nursultan Nazarbayev. Nazarbayev is the only one still in office, and he is under investigation by Swiss banking authorities as well as the U.S. Justice Department in connection with the funds in his secret Swiss accounts. Swiss officials, citing a new UN anti-corruption agreement, are happy to have an opportunity to shed their reputation as haven for criminals and demonstrate their newfound integrity, the report says. http://www.letemps.ch/

For the full stories, see the web citations above or contact us at News@Kazakhstan21.org or see VOD Archives [http://iicas.org/english/enlibrary/libr_16_03_01kp.htm]. The Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation promotes democracy and human rights in Kazakhstan through public affairs and educational programs in the United States and Europe. This material is distributed by Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation.