Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Akezhan Kazhegeldin, who was placed on the international wanted list in 1999, has offered assistance to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in recovering assets stolen by fugitive oligarchs.
According to the Telegram channel «Злобная татешка», Kazhegeldin stated that he does not necessarily need to live in Kazakhstan to do this. He said the only thing he would require is a mandate and authority to coordinate the actions of the state bodies responsible for asset recovery.
“Not only Timur Kulibayev, but Nursultan Abishevich himself will agree to the formula we propose to him. Those who have been hiding behind foreign passports can relax. They won’t help. If they refuse voluntary cooperation, there will be enough jurisdictions for everyone: for the Kazakhs in Kazakhstan, for the British in Albion, for the Belgians in both Belgium and Luxembourg,” he stated.
The former prime minister proposed that oligarchs be exempted from criminal prosecution if they return illegal assets.
“The basis of the draft law we prepared and submitted to the government was a provision whereby a person who has illegally acquired capital could voluntarily transfer their assets to the state, and then their criminal case would be closed. That is, the state body implementing this provision would offer to close the case in exchange for the return of assets. And in this way, the person would be exempted from criminal prosecution. But only in exchange!” the former prime minister claimed.
At the same time, journalists noted that Kazhegeldin was once suspected of illegally transferring capital abroad.
It was reported that the former prime minister’s family used some of those funds at the time to purchase a London mansion located near Buckingham Palace.
“The house belongs to the company Zarek Investments Limited, whose owner is Akezhan Kazhegeldin’s daughter, Diana Battaglia. The same address is listed in British electoral registers for Akezhan Kazhegeldin himself. Where the rest of the stolen money went, only Kazhegeldin himself knows,” the message stated.
It is worth recalling that in 1999, former Prime Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin was placed on the wanted list on charges of abuse of power and official authority, extortion, and repeatedly receiving bribes.
In September 2001, Kazhegeldin, who was living in the United States, was found guilty in absentia and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment to be served in a general-regime correctional labour colony, along with the confiscation of his property.