Majilis deputy Azat Peruashev stated that Kazakhstan spent twice as much on legal proceedings in the Stati case than $544 million.
“The decision of the Stockholm Arbitration Court for Kazakhstan to pay $544 million to the Stati brothers has not been overturned. Meanwhile, according to some media reports, Kazakhstan spent twice as much on these legal battles as the amount claimed by Stati,” said Peruashev.
According to media, the Majilis member also questioned the effectiveness and integrity of the company Bolashak Consulting Group, which represented the country's interests in court in the Stati case. The deputy also believes that the activities of the Stati companies caused damage to Kazakhstan of more than 140 billion tenge.
“The Stati brothers estimated their damages at $4 billion and, by filing a lawsuit in the Stockholm Arbitration Court, secured an award of $544 million, and subsequently – the freezing of assets belonging to the National Bank and the National Fund of Kazakhstan worth over $22 billion, as well as shares of JSC 'KazMunayGas',” the report states.
Recall that the editorial board of the FBRK closely followed the situation surrounding the case of the Moldovan oligarchs Gabriel and Anatol Stati and published the results of the past trials.
It was reported that the legal battles between Kazakhstan and the Stati family were coordinated by former Minister of Justice Marat Beketayev, who is currently under investigation, and the consulting group Bolashak Consulting Group.
The legal defence strategy required Kazakhstani taxpayers to fund accounts worth tens of millions of dollars annually to delay the payment of the compensation awarded to the Stati businessmen by the court.
Thus, in various years, the Ministry of Justice spent between 22% and 48% of its budget on litigation against Stati. For instance, in 2014, the total expenditure of the Ministry of Justice amounted to $173 million, which was the maximum spending level of the department in the last 10 years. Arbitration costs from this sum totalled $38.9 million (22% of the ministry's total expenditure).
The most money spent on arbitration proceedings against Stati was in 2021 – $60.3 million, or 48% of the ministry's total spending ($125.2 million). Incidentally, the Ministry of Justice later terminated cooperation with Bolashak Consulting Group.
It was also previously reported that the Ministry of Justice intends to create a group of trusted lawyers and experts to protect the country's interests abroad. The team will consist exclusively of domestic specialists.