A prominent opposition politician and journalist on Monday won his bid to challenge a trusted ally of strongman Nursultan Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan’s presidential polls next month.
The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office recently approved an indictment against Mukhtar Ablyazov, former head of Kazakhstan-based BTA Bank, who is accused of embezzling 58 billion rubles ($1,8 billion at the average annual rate of 2009), Alexandr Kurennoy, a spokesman for the Prosecutor General’s Office, has confirmed.
Beijing's money comes with strings attached.
Kazakhstan has long set its sights on joining the world’s elite. Yet there’s a huge gap between their rhetoric and their deeds.
Frustrations have been bolstered by perceptions that crucial national decisions are being made without the general population being consulted.
A Russian-tied lobbyist who attended the notorious Trump Tower meeting and a longtime GOP operative are teaming up to lobby on behalf of a Kazakh fugitive alleged to have stolen millions from the Central Asian country.
Nursultan Nazarbayev, the only leader Kazakhstan had known since the country gained independence nearly 30 years ago, resigned March 19. During his televised announcement, the longtime autocrat noted his government’s shortcomings in addressing economic problems and expressed desire for a new generation of leadership.
