Tag Archives: politics

High-profile officials on trial in Kazakhstan

DEC. 4 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s Prosecutor-General has accused Bergei Ryskaliyev, the former governor of the Atyrau region, of stealing 71b tenge ($460m).

But the charges against Mr Ryskaliyev don’t stop there. The latest allegation is that he illegally allocated land for the construction of mosques and that he had links to unspecified terrorist groups.

It been a fast fall from grace for the 46-year-old Mr Ryskaliyev. He was governor of the Atyrau region until August 2012 when he, officially at least, was moved aside because of ill health. Since then Mr Ryskaliyev has been on the run with his brother, dodging the Kazakh authorities.

It was also in August 2012 that his main ally, Aslan Musin lost his job as head of the Kazakh presidential staff, one of the most influential jobs in Kazakhstan.

In Kazakhstan’s rough and tumble world of politics and business, your so-called “krisha” or roof is one of your most important defences.

And if your krisha goes, you’re in trouble, analysts said. “The legal action against the Ryskalievs might be a power play towards the more prominent Musin,” said an Almaty-based analyst who wished to remain anonymous.

Also in August 2012, Mr Ryskaliev’s sister Gulzhanar was accused of a high-profile murder and the family assets in Switzerland were frozen upon allegations of money laundering.

The case of Mr Ryskaliev is important to foreign investors as it shows how closely aligned politics, corruption and crime is in Kazakhstan.

It’s not the only high-profile corruption against officials, though.

A court in Geneva froze the assets of former mayor of Almaty, Viktor Khrapunov, in November 2012 on suspicion of money laundering and in Astana, Anar Meshimbayeva, former chairwoman of the statistics agency, is facing charges of stealing 750 m tenge ($4.9m) in 2009.

ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 164, published on Dec. 11 2013)

Uzbekistan’s power struggle continues

DEC. 10 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Gulnara Karimova, the flamboyant and outlandish eldest daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov, appears to be locked in a power struggle in Uzbekistan.

The authorities have closed down her various businesses and organisations and prosecuted her allies, leaving analysts wondering who her rivals are and who actual has the final say on succession issues.

Certainly not Mr Karimov, an exiled Uzbek human rights activist said. “The National Security Service controls everything in the country,” she said. “If a major power crisis hit the country it (the Uzbek security service) would decide who fills all the leading positions. They know who the next president will be.”

The head of Uzbekistan’s National Security Service is Rustam Inoyatov. He has held the position since 1995, accumulating much power and patronage. Analysts and media have said that Mr Inoyatov may be behind Ms Karimova’s recent problems.

A Central Asia security analyst also said that various external players may be able to influence who became Uzbekistan’s next president.

“Uzbekistan has significant gas and oil supply commitments to China, so Beijing will want to make sure that the next head of Uzbek state would not only honour those commitments but will also remain in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation,” he said.

The Kremlin would also try to influence the decision-making process in Uzbekistan, the analyst said, just as it had in Ukraine and Georgia.

Conspicuously absent from this short list are the EU and the US. They just don’t have the same cache in Uzbekistan.

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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 164, published on Dec. 11 2013)

Kyrgyz government sacks mayor

DEC. 5 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Kyrgyz authorities sacked the powerful mayor of Osh, Melis Myrzakmatov, a few days after he attended a major anti-government rally.

It’s a bold, but also risky, move by the government.

The 44-year-old Mr Myrzakmatov is a firebrand nationalist, known for ignoring the central government in Bishkek. He’d held power in Osh since January 2009 and has been a headache for the national government ever since the ouster of former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev in 2010.

Since then the southern power groups have jostled for influence with their northern adversaries. In June 2010 this came to a head with inter-ethnic fighting between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks. Some analysts blamed local regional chiefs, including Mr Myrzakmatov, for stirring the trouble.

On Dec. 3, a few days after clashes with police, a reported 3,000 demonstrators gathered in Osh to call for the release of popular southern politician, Akhmatbek Keldibekov. Police had arrested Mr Keldibekov, a former Speaker of the parliament, in November on corruption charges.

By deposing Mr Myrzakmatov, who attended the rally, the government probably hopes to cut a major agitator out of the equation and take the momentum out of the protests. Mr Myrzakmatov, though, is a wily opponent and has already said that he will return to front-line politics.

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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 164, published on Dec. 11 2013)

Karimov boosts parliament powers in Uzbekistan

DEC. 6 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — At a ceremony to mark the 21st anniversary of Uzbekistan’s Constitution, President Islam Karimov played the role of the democrat.

He said he wanted Parliament to be stronger and to play a more defined role in public life. What he wanted to see, he said, was parliament monitoring both ministers and the decision-making process. To extend the Uzbek parliament’s reach and power, Mr Karimov said he would have to alter with the country’s already much tinkered with constitution.

Mr Karimov, though, is not known as a democrat and he was paying only lip-service to the idea of a powerful parliament. In reality it rubber stamps his decisions.

For foreign businesses and analysts, the underlying message of Mr Karimov’s latest pronouncement is that he is happy to alter Uzbekistan’s constitution to give more window dressing to the idea that parliamentary democracy exists in Uzbekistan.

ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 164, published on Dec. 11 2013)

Uzbek security services to decide power struggle

DEC. 10 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — The top members of the Uzbek national security service and not President Islam Karimov are the main king-makers in Uzbekistan, analysts told The Bulletin. Mr Karimov’s eldest daughter, Gulnara Karimova, has been locked in a struggle for power in Uzbekistan.

ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 164, published on Dec. 11 2013)

MP jailed in Azerbaijan

DEC. 2 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in Baku jailed former Azerbaijani MP Gular Akhmadova for three years for corruption. In 2005, Akhmadova had tried to extort a $1m bribe from the owner of an Azerbaijani university in exchange for a seat in parliament.

(News report from Issue No. 163, published on Dec. 4 2013)

Rakhmon continues reshuffle in Tajikistan

NOV. 30 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon continued his cabinet re-shuffle after winning an election last month by replacing the foreign minister, finance minister and transport minister. Media also reported that Mr Rakhmon had promoted his son to head the Customs Committee, a lucrative post in corruption-rife Tajikistan.

(News report from Issue No. 163, published on Dec. 4 2013)

Uzbek president’s daughter grows her wealth

NOV. 29 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Lola Karimova-Tillayeva, younger daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov, and her husband have a combined wealth of 100m-200m Swiss francs ($110m-$220m), Swiss media reported. The report will be embarrassing to Mrs Karimova-Tillayeva who said in a recent interview that she was not particularly wealthy.

(News report from Issue No. 163, published on Dec. 4 2013)

New accusations emerge on former Kazakh governor

DEC. 4 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s Prosecutor-General accused the former governor of the Atyrau region, Bergei Ryskaliyev, of having links to radical Islamic groups. Mr Ryskaliyev has been on the run for over a year. He is also accused of stealing $460m.

(News report from Issue No. 164, published on Dec. 11 2013)

Uzbek authorities keep pressure on president’s daughter

NOV. 29 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — The authorities in Uzbekistan continued to ramp up pressure on Gulanara Karimova, eldest daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov. On Nov. 27, the Central Bank withdrew an operating licence for Credit Standard Bank, which is linked to her. Later, police also closed down art and jewellery stores belong to Ms Karimova.

(News report from Issue No. 163, published on Dec. 4 2013)