Kazakhstan challenges large asset transfer by ex-president's foundation


  • World
  • Thursday, 16 Feb 2023

FILE PHOTO: Kazakh former President Nursultan Nazarbayev speaks before casting his ballot at a polling station during presidential elections in Astana, Kazakhstan, November 20, 2022. REUTERS/Turar Kazangapov

ALMATY (Reuters) - Kazakh prosecutors have filed a lawsuit seeking to nullify the transfer of a local bank's ownership from ex-president Nursultan Nazarbayev's non-profit foundation to a foreign company, they said on Thursday.

The foundation established by Nazarbayev, who ran the oil-rich Central Asian nation for three decades until resigning in 2019, used to own Jusan Bank, the sixth-largest lender in the former Soviet republic.

But according to a statement by the prosecutor general's office, the company through which the foundation owned the bank transferred its shares to a foreign company in 2020, "endangering public interest".

Nazarbayev, 82, fell out with his successor Kassym-Jomart Tokayev last year and lost key positions which had given him sweeping powers even after resignation, such as the chairmanship of the security council.

The Nazarbayev foundation, run by his daughter Dariga Nazarbayeva, acquired Jusan in 2019 after it was bailed out by the state.

According to prosecutors, the foundation asked them this month to look into the case, describing the ownership transfer as a result of illegal actions by several entities.

Neither the foundation, which runs a university and a network of prestigious schools, nor Nazarbayev's spokesman could be immediately reached for comment.

(Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!
   

Next In World

Haiti attack on Doctors Without Borders ambulance kills two patients
Malaysians can now use Taiwan’s e-Gate for immigration clearance
Argentina appeals court confirms guilty verdict for former President Cristina Kirchner
Italian president tells Musk to quit meddling in Italy's domestic politics
Liberal bastion no more? Rights groups fret over Swedish crackdown on gang crime
Musk to join Trump at meeting with House Republicans, reports say
Scholz, fighting for survival, says Germans should not choose between security and prosperity
Spaniards brace for fresh storms two weeks after deadly Valencia floods
Senior Russian naval officer killed in car bomb hit claimed by Kyiv
Guardian quits X social media platform, citing racism and conspiracy theories

Others Also Read