2018

Ex-Kazakh Mayor Slapped in New York Suit on Looted Billions

28 Mar

Corruption!

2213

Ex-Kazakh Mayor Slapped in New York Suit on Looted Billions

As the ex-mayor of Almaty, Kazakhstan, battles allegations that his family systematically looted hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds, a U.S. magistrate approved sanctions Monday against th... read more..

Internet censorship in Kazakhstan: more pervasive than you may think

26 Mar

Events and opinions

1340

Internet censorship in Kazakhstan: more pervasive than you may think

As Internet penetration grows in the country, so do the government’s attempts to monitor, control and repress dissenting voices. As Internet penetration grows in the country, so do the government’s... read more..

UK: Supreme Court: Actions In Contempt Of Court Can Be 'Unlawful Means'

26 Mar

Events and opinions

1348

UK: Supreme Court: Actions In Contempt Of Court Can Be 'Unlawful Means'

Multiple breaches of worldwide freezing orders (WFOs) in contempt of court can form the basis of an action for damages caused by 'unlawful means' conspiracy, the UK's highest court has confirmed. T... read more..

Kazakhstan: Tokmadi sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison for murdering former BTA Bank chair

26 Mar

Political process

1441

Kazakhstan: Tokmadi sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison for murdering former BTA Bank chair

Muratkhan Tokmadi was sentenced March 16 to 10 1/2 years in a maximum-security prison for murdering the chair of the BTA Bank Yerzhan Tatishev during a hunt in 2004. It is the second verdict in the ca... read more..

U.S. court rules in favour of $520 million arbitration against Kazakhstan

26 Mar

Corruption!

1580

U.S. court rules in favour of $520 million arbitration against Kazakhstan

A court in the United States has ruled in favour of a Moldovan businessman seeking to enforce a $520 million arbitration award against Kazakhstan. The businessman, Anatolie Stati, has already read more..

World's biggest metals factory gives Kazakh town a life of its own

25 Mar

Special projects

3857

World's biggest metals factory gives Kazakh town a life of its own

On the surface, the Kazakh town of Aksu looks like a Communist stereotype. Its metals factory is the biggest in the world and for generations it has provided residents with employment, healthcare, edu... read more..

Kazakhstan Closes Spigot to Opposition Leader’s Information Channels

25 Mar

Political process

1525

Kazakhstan Closes Spigot to Opposition Leader’s Information Channels

Facebook and Telegram have been malfunctioning since an opposition movement was labelled extremist. Communications authorities in Kazakhstan have revealed that their efforts to delete online materi... read more..

Frontmen for shell companies could face jail in UK property crackdown

25 Mar

Corruption!

1423

Frontmen for shell companies could face jail in UK property crackdown

Frontmen of foreign shell companies that are used to hide the true ownership of some of London’s most expensive properties could face up to two years in jail and unlimited fines under new government p... read more..

25 Mar

Political process

1480

Interpol Is Now a Crime Victim

Russia and other authoritarian states are gaming the system to go after dissidents. The poisoning of a former Russian double agent and his daughter in Salisbury, England, earlier this month isn't j... read more..

How Putin cronies BOUGHT London: One spent £250m on property in the capital in a year, another owns the city's biggest private house (apart from Buckingham Palace)... So will they now face a financial crackdown?

25 Mar

Corruption!

1466

How Putin cronies BOUGHT London: One spent £250m on property in the capital in a year, another owns the city's biggest private house (apart from Buckingham Palace)... So will they now face a financial crackdown?

Built in the style of a French chateau, with a palatial roofline rising high over the River Thames, Whitehall Court is one of Britain’s grandest private buildings. The imposing Victorian pile, whic... read more..

20 Mar

Events and opinions

1289

Russia: Putin’s Tsar Paul Complex

Now that Vladimir Putin has dispensed with the formalities of reclaiming presidential authority, Kremlinologists can focus on the more substantive question of how Russia’s paramount leader intends to ... read more..

20 Mar

Corruption!

1350

Kazakhstan: Two High-Profile Trials Conclude with Jailings

The convictions close the book on corruption and murder trials that have exposed the rot within the system. Two high-profile criminal trials in Kazakhstan — one for murder and the other for corrupt... read more..

20 Mar

Events and opinions

1369

Multilateralism for a Despotic Age

Democracies need different rules of engagement with authoritarian regimes. “I know very well that right now some are trying to isolate Cuba. We Europeans want to show, on the contrary, that we are ... read more..

Anonymous Generosity: the Foundations Sponsoring Putin’s Re-Election

20 Mar

Events and opinions

1240

Anonymous Generosity: the Foundations Sponsoring Putin’s Re-Election

Russian President Vladimir Putin may be running for reelection as an independent candidate, at least officially — but his electoral campaign is wholly funded by the ruling United Russia party and 22 a... read more..

09 Mar

Corruption!

1628

Kazakhs Sue a Kleptocrat, Trump Friend

A scandal involving fraud, racketeering and theft that features ties to President Donald Trump and a notorious Cyprus bank is playing out in a Los Angeles federal court, where a former Kazakhstan poli... read more..

Kazakhstan Grants US Access To Ports For Afghan-Bound Goods

09 Mar

Political process

1278

Kazakhstan Grants US Access To Ports For Afghan-Bound Goods

Lawmakers in Kazakhstan have approved an agreement allowing the United States to use two of the nation’s Caspian Sea ports as transit points for shipping nonmilitary material to Afghanistan. By gai... read more..

The Ablyazov Affair: ‘Fraud on an Epic Scale’

09 Mar

Special projects

4090

The Ablyazov Affair: ‘Fraud on an Epic Scale’

New rounds of litigation add to the opaque case of fugitive ex-Kazakh minister Mukhtar Ablyazov – writes Stephen M. Bland. With the ninth anniversary of his flight from the authorities in his homel... read more..

£22m homes are first to be hit by ‘McMafia’ law

04 Mar

Corruption!

1504

£22m homes are first to be hit by ‘McMafia’ law

Two homes worth £22 million and owned by a foreign tycoon today became the first to be targeted using a new law to tackle “McMafia” style criminals in Britain. The National Crime Agency said that t... read more..

The Mayfair mansion that’s been empty for 14 years

03 Mar

Corruption!

1598

The Mayfair mansion that’s been empty for 14 years

As temperatures plummet to sub-zero and over a thousand people sleep rough on London’s streets, Who Owns England can reveal the Mayfair mansion that’s been empty for 14 years. Moreover, it transpir... read more..

22 Feb

Corruption!

1744

Kazakhstan and Corruption: Young Blood, Old Habits

The accused is a star of one of Kazakhstan's most-vaunted success stories: the Bolashak scholars program. Sometimes a corruption case is about more than just the corruption. The downfall of Kuandyk... read more..

19 Feb

Corruption!

1587

Kazakhstan: Businessman Alleges Torture

Provide Medical Treatment, Ensure Justice for Abuse Kazakh authorities should provide immediate medical assistance to a detained businessman who has alleged that he was beaten and ill-treated, the ... read more..

Wife of president Nazarbayev’s grandson Nurali bid £5,000 for Royal Opera House tickets

11 Feb

Corruption!

4663

Wife of president Nazarbayev’s grandson Nurali bid £5,000 for Royal Opera House tickets

The wife of one of Vladimir Putin’s former cronies has given the Conservative Party £30,000 to dine with Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson. The donation by Lubov Chernukhin, who is married to a fo... read more..

Kazakhstan: Terrorist Plot — or Concocted Conspiracy?

08 Feb

Corruption!

1753

Kazakhstan: Terrorist Plot — or Concocted Conspiracy?

Bemused skeptics say the video and subsequent arrests seem like a convoluted set-up designed by security services to jail dissidents. Three men in plain white face masks gaze into the camera as the... read more..

08 Feb

Corruption!

1517

UK Goes Afters Corruption Suspects With Suspicious Wealth

The UK will force people owning property worth more than £50,000 (US$70,000) who have suspected links to organized crime or are vulnerable to graft as a result of their political position to explain w... read more..

From a luxury 'prison,' an exclusive interview with Saudi Prince Alwaleed

03 Feb

Corruption!

1509

From a luxury 'prison,' an exclusive interview with Saudi Prince Alwaleed

The global renown of billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal made his involuntary detention in early November at Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton hotel one of the biggest single shocks of Saudi Arabia’s anti-corru... read more..

For Saudi tycoons freed from detention, cheers and a business challenge

03 Feb

Corruption!

1700

For Saudi tycoons freed from detention, cheers and a business challenge

Cheering supporters greeted Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal when he arrived at his skyscraper offices in Riyadh after his release from detention in an anti-corruption crackdown. ... read more..

28 Jan

Events and opinions

1655

A Troubling Scenario for Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan’s long-heralded stability is being challenged by growing economic problems, societal frustrations, and rising nationalism. Key Points Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev... read more..

Prominent US Human Rights Lawyer Takes Up Case of Jailed Kazakh Businessman

28 Jan

Events and opinions

1538

Prominent US Human Rights Lawyer Takes Up Case of Jailed Kazakh Businessman

Jared Genser’s firm described Iskander Yerimbetov as “a hostage” of the Kazakh state who had been subjected to torture. U.S. based human rights lawyer, Jared Genser, announced this week that his fi... read more..

Democracy’s real crisis: Its failure to challenge kleptocrats

28 Jan

Events and opinions

1466

Democracy’s real crisis: Its failure to challenge kleptocrats

Despite what you might gather from recent reports, democracy is not “in crisis” because Russia (a country facing a massive HIV epidemic) or China (a country facing huge looming demographic problems) h... read more..

Kazakhstan And France Are Working On Military Cooperation

19 Jan

Events and opinions

1580

Kazakhstan And France Are Working On Military Cooperation

Even with its economy still recovering from the collapse of oil prices in 2014 Kazakhstan is laying the groundwork for a self-sufficient domestic arms industry that may soon export its wares. In Decem... read more..

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