Kazakh leader Nursultan Nazarbayev and his son-in-law Timur Kulibyev are facing a lawsuit for laundering at least $436 million, Swiss media reported a lawyer involved in the case as saying on Monday.
Though Kulibayev was already under investigation for laundering $645 million in a deal involving the sale of his shares in state-owned KazMunaiGaz (KMG), the probe has widened to include Nazarbayev, Swiss lawyer Bruno de Preux told the news agency.
Swiss prosecutors are now looking into Nazarbayev's role in pocketing $100 million after the sale of state-operated satellite television group Khabar Agency, the Swissinfo.ch news agency reported on Monday.
A group of Kazakhs who remain unnamed are responsible for bringing the suit forward in Swiss courts. De Preux is representing them in court.
The money was reportedly routed through a delegate working in Kazakhstan's mission to the UN in Geneva. According to the lawyer representing the Kazakh group, the $100 million was deposited in Zurich in a Credit Suisse account.
However, federal prosecutors have refused to confirm whether Nazarbayev is targeted by the lawsuit.
www.universalnewswires.com
