UN and World Bank to facilitate reclaiming of illegally withdrawn assets by Kazakhstan

The Stolen Assets Recovery (StAR) Initiative by the World Bank and the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) is going to assist Kazakhstan in its endeavor to reclaim illegally withdrawn assets, the General Prosecutor’s Office of Kazakhstan said.

Why the StAR initiative will assist Kazakhstan in the recovery of assets

On June 12-16, 2023, a Kazakhstani delegation headed by Deputy General Prosecutor of Kazakhstan Ulan Baizhanov, took part in the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention Against Corruption in Vienna (Austria). During the meeting, Kazakhstani officials enlisted the help of the StAR initiative in returning illegally withdrawn assets.

What else was discussed at the meeting in Vienna

– Kazakhstani prosecutors discussed with representatives of the European Court of Auditors, law enforcement agencies from Europe, Asia and other jurisdictions the possibility of accelerating the process of consideration of official requests filed by Kazakhstan as well as the development of bilateral cooperation in criminal proceedings;

– accession of Kazakhstan to the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters.

What is the meeting’s context?

–              In June 2022, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev established a commission to counter the illegal concentration of economic resources. At the time, he said that the commission would be focused on recovering illegally withdrawn funds;

–              As of September 2022, $1.1 billion was recovered. In December, the government reported $1.4 billion of reclaimed assets. About $940 million was recovered as compensation for damage, while $701 million was seized in the form of cash and precious metals and stones;

–              In the middle of May 2023, the country’s government reported that it successfully recovered $1.6 billion of illegally withdrawn assets;

–              In June 2023, Kazakhstani authorities said that they had regained control over the Jusan Group. The group is now going to work under the country’s legislation. As of April 1, 2023, First Heartland Securities (78.73%) and Galimzhan Yessenov (20.11%) were key shareholders of the company.