Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, lies thousands of miles from London’s trading rooms – let alone the political lobbyists in Washington. This summer, however, Grigori Marchenko, the Kazakh central bank governor, has reason to follow the US and UK debate about the future of credit derivatives with particular interest.

Anti-corruption war takes public's attention away from real problems.

 

 

 

(Photo: Mr Dzhakishev is suspected of defrauding the state nuclear firm)

Es könnte "gut sein", dass es nach dem Spitzel-Untersuchungsausschuss zu Gesetzesänderungen kommt, erklärte der Vorsitzende des Ausschusses, Martin Bartenstein (V), Freitag in der "ZIB 2" des ORF. Wenn im Endbericht Gesetzesänderungen empfehlen werden, "nehme ich an, dass das sehr wahrscheinlich ist".

Kazakhstan is due to assume leadership next year of an important international body set up to foster dialogue between East and West on topics including human rights. But its record on freedom of expression remains poor and there remain significant concerns about its upcoming stewardship of the 56-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

If reports coming out of Astana are to be believed, corruption and mismanagement are eating away at the core of the Kazakh state. According to official information, bureaucrats -- from ministers on down -- have either been helping themselves to government funds or, at the very least, making ill-informed decisions that have incurred billions of dollars in losses. But some opposition figures believe the proliferation of corruption cases in Kazakhstan is an outgrowth of a behind-the-scenes power struggle.

Frederic Bourke, the co-founder of handbag maker Dooney & Bourke who was once part of the Ford family, was convicted by a U.S. jury of conspiring to pay bribes to government leaders in Azerbaijan in a 1998 oil deal.