The Minister of Justice, Azamat Yeskarayev, struggled to answer journalists' questions about how much Kazakhstan spent on legal representation in the STATI case.
According to media reports, Yeskarayev could only state that around 10 billion tenge would be allocated from the budget in 2024 for all arbitration proceedings conducted by the Ministry of Justice.
At the same time, the minister stated that the fees for the specialists involved in the STATI case had not decreased and remained at the previous level. He also said that the Ministry of Justice currently has 26 arbitration proceedings underway.
It is worth recalling that the editorial team of FBRK closely monitored the situation surrounding the case of Moldovan oligarchs Gabriel and Anatol Stati and announced the outcomes of the past court hearings.
It was reported that Kazakhstan's legal battles with 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 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 lawsuits against STATI. For example, in 2014, the total expenditure of the Ministry of Justice was $173 million, which was the highest departmental spending figure in the last 10 years. Of the $173 million, spending on arbitrations amounted to $38.9 million (22% of the total expenditure of the Ministry). The most money spent on arbitration courts against STATI was in 2021 - $60.3 million, or 48% of the total ministry expenditure ($125.2 million).
Incidentally, the Ministry of Justice later terminated its cooperation with the company Bolashak Consulting Group. It was also reported earlier 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.