Corruption In Kazakhstan
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Corruption in Kazakhstan constitutes a persistent systemic challenge, manifesting in both public and commercial spheres. Despite legislative and institutional anti-corruption initiatives, the country remains vulnerable to corruption scandals, which reach the highest levels of the Kazakh government. In the 2024
Transparency International Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil s ...
Corruption Perceptions Index The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is an index that scores and ranks countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as assessed by experts and business executives. The CPI generally defines corruption as an "abuse of entr ...
, Kazakhstan was positioned 88th out of 180 countries, attaining a score of 39 out of 100. This rating places the country within the index's classification of nations exhibiting significant levels of corruption, highlighting the ongoing need for substantive reforms.


Judicial corruption

The Kazakh
judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
has faced increasing scrutiny regarding allegations of corruption. Notably, by 2021, over 30 judicial officers were convicted on corruption charges, with approximately half receiving imprisonment as punishment. Oirat, Ayazhan (2024). "Corruption in Kazakhstan's Judiciary". The Diplomat. https://thediplomat.com/2024/10/corruption-in-kazakhstans-judiciary/ This trend is demonstrated in the 2022 case involving a former chairman of the
Kostanay Kostanay or Qostanai (, , rus, Костанай, p=kəstɐˈnaj) is a city located on the Tobol River in northern Kazakhstan. It is the administrative center of the Kostanay Region. As of 24 March 2022, the city's governor is Marat Zhundubay ...
District Court. He was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment following a conviction for accepting a bribe of approximately $40,000. Allegations of corruption persist as more judges are accused of wrongdoing by 2023. These include a judge in Talgar, who was charged with accepting a bribe in favor of a perpetrator who abused a child. These cases underscore systemic vulnerabilities within the judicial system and highlight the ongoing efforts to address corruption within this sector. It also contributes to the inability of the government to address corruption as it undermines the enforcement of anti-corruption measures.


Public sector

Corruption in other branches of the government is also rampant. In 2022, around 1,000 corruption crimes were reported involving at least 600 public officials, including 110 heads of state structures. Corruption charges include
bribery Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or Offer and acceptance, acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official ...
,
embezzlement Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...
,
fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...
, misappropriation, and
abuse of power Abuse of power or abuse of authority, in the form of "malfeasance in office" or "official abuse of power", is the commission of an Crime, unlawful act, done in an official capacity, which affects the performance of official duties. Malfeasan ...
. Almost half of reported corruption cases involved bribery. This was supported by the
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’s global Enterprise survey. The study revealed that every fourth private company operating in the country faces extortion of bribes from officials in government agencies. This leads to the unfavorable business environment and discourages foreign investment. It is estimated that Kazakhstan loses $3.8 billion in revenues annually due to these corrupt practices. The Khorgos Customs Corruption case, one of Kazakhstan's largest corruption scandals, exemplifies the pervasive nature of illicit activity within the country. It involved high-ranking officials from the National Security Committee and customs services, who were accused of orchestrating a criminal enterprise that extorted bribes at the Kazakh-Chinese border. Its operations entailed a “green corridor” scheme that allowed the smuggling of contrabands with the complicity of customs officers.


High-profile cases

There are several high-profile cases that indicate the severity of Kazakhstan’s corruption problem. One example is the case of the former President
Nursultan Nazarbayev Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev (born 6 July 1940) is a Kazakhstani politician who served as the first president of Kazakhstan from 1991 to 2019. He also held the special title of Elbasy from 2010 to 2022 and chairman of the Security Council of ...
, who ruled Kazakhstan for nearly three decades. He was accused of accumulating ill-gotten wealth during the course of his administration. The extent of corruption is highlighted by the involvement of his family and close associates. This was evident in the so-called “ Kazakhgate”, the scandal in the 1990s that involved allegations of bribery related to oil deals. It was revealed in an investigation by U.S. authorities that American businessman James Giffen bribed Kazakh officials millions of dollars to obtain oil contracts. Nazarbayev is potentially one of those who received payments. Giffen, who was described as a close friend of Nazarbayev, was never convicted after the case was dropped when it was learned that he acted with
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approval. When Giffen was indicted, however, the prosecution alleged that he served as Nazarbayev’s personal banker and money launderer. Timur Kulibayev, Nazarbayev’s son-in-law was also accused of accumulating wealth due to his connections to the former president. For instance, his company, TenizService, secured $2.5 billion from hevron, ExxonMobil Corp., and two partners for the construction of an offloading facility, a major infrastructure project for transporting oil from the
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's northern coast to a
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n seaport. TenizService’s anchored its pitch on its “good relations” with the government, promising quick processing for a complex project that required the approval of no less than 170 officials across 46 Kazakh entities, ranging from local water officials to the Ministry of Transport. There is also the case of the Qalbatau-Maiqapshaghai Road Project scandal, which involved the embezzlement of around $44 million allocated for the construction of a 415-kilometer highway linking Qalbatau and Maiqapshaghai in East Kazakhstan. Misappropriation of funds resulted in the highway's partial completion, with only half of the planned road constructed. Bolatuly, Tasqyn (2023). “High-Profile Kazakhs Linked To Road-Project Corruption Escaping Prosecution, Investigation Finds”. RFERL. https://www.rferl.org/a/kazakhstan-road-project-corruption-investigation-nazarbaev/32624823.html. The project was awarded to QazGerStroi, a subcontractor affiliated with entities owned by Qairat Satybaldy, who is Nazarbayev’s eldest nephew. Satybaldy was found guilty of fraud and embezzlement in 2022 and was jailed for six years.


Anti-corruption measures

In an effort to mitigate systemic corruption and enhance transparency, Kazakhstan has instituted various anti-corruption measures, including the creation of the Anti-Corruption Agency, which is tasked with investigating corruption and recovering misappropriated assets. However, progress is impeded by persistent deficiencies in judicial independence and governmental transparency. This was highlighted in a report by the
Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...
released in 2022. Furthermore, state control of the Kazakh media restricts public scrutiny and accountability, thereby exacerbating the challenges in combating corruption.


Indicators of corruption

In the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index, Kazakhstan was scored on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean") along with 180 other countries. The country with the highest score was ranked first and is perceived to have the most honest public sector. Kazakhstan's score of 40 was the highest score it had received since the current version of the Corruption Perceptions Index was introduced in 2012. For comparison with regional scores, the best score among Eastern European and Central Asian countries was 53, the average score was 35 and the worst score was 17. For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90 (ranked 1), the average score was 43, and the worst score was 8 (ranked 180).


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kazakhstan Corruption in Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Politics of Kazakhstan Crime in Kazakhstan by type Law of Kazakhstan Economy of Kazakhstan Government of Kazakhstan Society of Kazakhstan