2018

On China’s New Silk Road, Democracy Pays A Toll

17 May

Events and opinions

1348

On China’s New Silk Road, Democracy Pays A Toll

China's vast foreign investment program comes at a sharp cost to human rights and good governance Great power competition is back. And China is now combining its vast economic resources with a musc... read more..

Kazakhstan-EU Parliamentary Cooperation Committee adopts joint declaration, confirms commitment to enhance ties

14 May

Political process

1213

Kazakhstan-EU Parliamentary Cooperation Committee adopts joint declaration, confirms commitment to enhance ties

Kazakh and European parliamentary officials reconfirmed mutual commitment to strengthening ties as they adopted a joint declaration following the May 10 15th annual session of the Kazakhstan-European ... read more..

Fast social and economic change rings in a new era for Uzbekistan

12 May

Economy

1711

Fast social and economic change rings in a new era for Uzbekistan

After decades in the economic wilderness, Uzbekistan wants to reintegrate itself into the global value chain. A Eurobond is on the way and regional integration has become a key priority In the year... read more..

Kazakhstan's Small Lenders Suffer Financial Crunch

12 May

Events and opinions

1193

Kazakhstan's Small Lenders Suffer Financial Crunch

Strongly criticized by the president, some small banks in Kazakhstan are asking for help from the state to withstand a liquidity crisis. Kazakhstan’s Single Pension Fund (ENPF) could lend cash agai... read more..

Kazakhstan Belt and Road Initiative: The road to somewhere

11 May

Economy

1889

Kazakhstan Belt and Road Initiative: The road to somewhere

Khorgos, a new state-of-the-art port in the middle of the Kazakh desert, sums up the grand ambitions of the Belt and Road Initiative. But it is as much driven and funded by Kazakhstan as it is by Chin... read more..

Kazakh police detain dozens at anti-government rally

11 May

Political process

1198

Kazakh police detain dozens at anti-government rally

Kazakh police detained dozens of people who demonstrated in the Central Asian nation's biggest city on Thursday after an opponent of President Nursultan Nazarbayev urged his followers to protest. M... read more..

Kazakhstan: Police crack down on anti-government rallies

11 May

Political process

1280

Kazakhstan: Police crack down on anti-government rallies

The demonstrations were organized at the behest of foreign-based opposition figure Mukhtar Ablyazov. A rights group in Kazakhstan has said numerous people were detained by police on May 10 as the read more..

Fire and oil in western Kazakhstan's “spiritual renovation”

08 May

Events and opinions

1420

Fire and oil in western Kazakhstan's “spiritual renovation”

Post-independence Kazakhstan has seen a revival in Kazakh genealogies, sub-ethnic lineages and identities. The Adai Ata mausoleum. March 2017. Photo courtesy of the author. All rights reserved.As t... read more..

Brother of Kazakhstan’s president sells Plaza Hotel condo

27 Apr

Corruption!

1522

Brother of Kazakhstan’s president sells Plaza Hotel condo

The 18th-floor unit has a storied history of lawsuits that broke apart a leading Kazakh family Bolat Nazarbayev, the brother of Kazakhstan’s authoritarian leader Nursultan Nazarbayev, sold his four... read more..

Kazakhstan’s government squelches the least hint of dissent

27 Apr

Special projects

4524

Kazakhstan’s government squelches the least hint of dissent

To the untrained eye, the activity looked innocent enough. Patriotic Kazakhs marked a public holiday in March by displaying balloons of the same turquoise colour as the national flag. The hitch was... read more..

Trump associate received at least $21M in alleged oligarch scheme

27 Apr

Corruption!

1617

Trump associate received at least $21M in alleged oligarch scheme

A businessman whose name has resurfaced in the Trump-Russia investigation once received more than $21 million connected to an alleged money laundering scheme involving Kazakh oligarchs, according to c... read more..

Kazakhastan May Allow U.S. To Use Its Ports To Deliver Military supplies to Afghanistan

26 Apr

Events and opinions

1331

Kazakhastan May Allow U.S. To Use Its Ports To Deliver Military supplies to Afghanistan

On April 19, Kazakhstan’s Senate ratified the agreement allowing the US to use its ports of Aktau and Kuryk on the East coast of the Caspian Sea to transit military supplies to Afghanistan, the Russia... read more..

26 Apr

Corruption!

1473

Trump associate received at least $21M in alleged oligarch scheme

A businessman whose name has resurfaced in the Trump-Russia investigation once received more than $21 million connected to an alleged money laundering scheme involving Kazakh oligarchs, according to c... read more..

Kazakh president’s brother takes nearly $4M loss on Plaza Hotel condo

26 Apr

Corruption!

1674

Kazakh president’s brother takes nearly $4M loss on Plaza Hotel condo

A Plaza Hotel condo owned by the brother of Kazakh dictator Nursultan Nazarbayev has sold at a loss to a mystery buyer for $14 million, according to city property records. Bolat Nazarbayev bought t... read more..

The End of the Democratic Century. Autocracy's Global Ascendance

25 Apr

Events and opinions

2086

The End of the Democratic Century. Autocracy's Global Ascendance

At the height of World War II, Henry Luce, the founder of Time magazine, argued that the United States had amassed such wealth and power that the twentieth century would come to be known simply as “th... read more..

Improving our anti-money laundering operations will help prevent great-power war

21 Apr

Corruption!

1880

Improving our anti-money laundering operations will help prevent great-power war

Interest is growing in illicit finance because great-power competition is playing out in boardrooms, stock markets, trade wars, and compliance departments. The US anti-money laundering (AML) regime... read more..

What’s in it for the Belt-and-Road countries?

21 Apr

Economy

1583

What’s in it for the Belt-and-Road countries?

How might the states of Central Asia and the Caucasus benefit from China’s grand new investment initiative? IN THE days when the Silk Road linked China to Europe, merchants would crisscross Eurasia... read more..

Kazakhstan Urged To Halt Criminal Proceedings Against Pregnant Woman Accused Of Funding Nazarbaev Foe

20 Apr

Events and opinions

1651

Kazakhstan Urged To Halt Criminal Proceedings Against Pregnant Woman Accused Of Funding Nazarbaev Foe

Amnesty International has called on authorities in Kazakhstan to halt criminal proceedings against a pregnant woman accused of giving financial backing to an opposition political movement. The Lond... read more..

Kazakhstan's Elderly Opposition Tries Something New

20 Apr

Events and opinions

2222

Kazakhstan's Elderly Opposition Tries Something New

Behind the mecenatismo of a former prime minister, Kazakhstan’s opposition figures find a new platform in Brussels. A diverse team of opposition figures, human rights defenders, and artists from Ka... read more..

Kazakhstan adopts Hollywood glamor to energize cinema industry

20 Apr

Events and opinions

1549

Kazakhstan adopts Hollywood glamor to energize cinema industry

The impetus to keep hammering away at the international film market has come from President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Mondays are not normally a busy day for cinemas, but at least one screen at the K read more..

Here are the oligarchs connected to Trump and his campaign

07 Apr

Corruption!

1431

Here are the oligarchs connected to Trump and his campaign

President Trump says he surrounds himself with the best people, though the cast of characters around him and his campaign has also included a very particular subset, post-Soviet oligarchs. Special ... read more..

The unsolved mystery of who owns Sherlock Holmes’s original £130 million home

05 Apr

Corruption!

1920

The unsolved mystery of who owns Sherlock Holmes’s original £130 million home

So reads the blue plaque on this pretty Georgian terraced house, home to London’s Sherlock Holmes Museum. In a city of storied buildings, the home of the fictional detective is as famous as they come.... read more..

04 Apr

Events and opinions

1332

Kazakhstan threatens to block Telegram

Authorities want the app makers to delete all content by government foe Mukhtar Ablyazov. Kazakhstan has warned it will block the popular Telegram messaging app unless the company agrees to delete ... read more..

Where Is Googoosha, the Missing Uzbek First Daughter?

04 Apr

Events and opinions

1708

Where Is Googoosha, the Missing Uzbek First Daughter?

Every five to 10 minutes, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week, a fresh group of Uzbek pilgrims troops into the tomb of their late president, the dictator Islam Karimov, to pay homage at his white ... read more..

Former Finance Minister Kakimzhanov Makes German Investor Disappointed in Kazakhstan

02 Apr

Events and opinions

2833

Former Finance Minister Kakimzhanov Makes German Investor Disappointed in Kazakhstan

Gunter Papenburg sent a letter to Zhakip Asanov, the Prosecutor General of Kazakhstan, requesting him to gain insight on dismissing former minister's case Gunter PAPENBURG, a multi-millionaire from... read more..

Switzerland conducts investigation against former Almaty (Kazakhstan) mayor and family

01 Apr

Corruption!

1623

Switzerland conducts investigation against former Almaty (Kazakhstan) mayor and family

The Geneva Prosecutor’s Office is conducting its own investigation against Viktor Khrapunov, his wife Leila Khrapunova and stepson Ilyas Khrapunov, Zakon.kz reports. The criminal case is now at the st... read more..

Russia’s Unhappy Energy Marriage with China

01 Apr

Political process

1439

Russia’s Unhappy Energy Marriage with China

With all the quiet chaos beneath the surface in Moscow, Beijing seems poised to benefit. As Putin has become the longest-serving Russian leader since Stalin, the country’s economic and political st... read more..

British inquiry promises ‘no stone left unturned’ as it tackles tax avoidance and evasion

01 Apr

Events and opinions

1364

British inquiry promises ‘no stone left unturned’ as it tackles tax avoidance and evasion

A British parliamentary subcommittee has opened an inquiry into tax avoidance and evasion in the wake of Paradise Papers revelations. “After the Paradise Papers, it is clear that this issue hasn’t ... read more..

Leak in Money-Launder Suit Touching Trump Project Draws Fine

28 Mar

Events and opinions

1336

Leak in Money-Launder Suit Touching Trump Project Draws Fine

A former mayor of Kazakhstan’s largest city and his son may be on the hook for more than $280,000 for violating a confidentiality order in a multibillion-dollar lawsuit over embezzlement and money lau... read more..

Rothschild pitches idea of pre-IPO sales for Kazakh privatisations

28 Mar

Special projects

4902

Rothschild pitches idea of pre-IPO sales for Kazakh privatisations

Rothschild, which advises the Kazakh central bank, has recommended that the country’s privatisation programme include pre-sales to strategic investors before shares are put on the market. Oil-rich ... read more..

Monthly Archive