Nephew of ex-president Nazarbayev has been detained in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan law enforcement officials have detained Kairat Satybaldyuly, nephew of the former president Nursultan Nazarbayev. He is accused of abuse of power and embezzlement in Kazakhtelecom, according to the Anti-Corruption Service.

He has been taken into custody.

«The police are trying to investigate whether Kairat Satybaldyuly was connected with other crimes that undermine national security. The investigation is ongoing. According to article 201 of the Criminal Code, we can’t reveal any information about the course of the investigation,» the agency said.

Kairat Satybaldy was born in 1970 in Almaty. His father Satybaldy was an older brother of Nursultan Nazarbayev. Kairat Satybaldy is an executive partner of Alatau Capital Invest which has a share in Kazakhtelecom. In 2018, Forbes Kazakhstan included Satybalty in the list of the 50 most powerful businessmen in the country. He also owns companies such as Amir LTD, Dunie Corporation, Dunie-Kuzet and Dunie-Agro.

Over his career, he worked as deputy mayor of the city of Astana (now Nur-Sultan), vice president of Kazakh Oil, first vice president of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, chairman of the board in Dunie Corporation and secretary of the Nur Otan party.

Another nephew of the former president Samat Abish worked in the Committee of National Security. On January 17, 2022, he was discharged from the office of deputy head of the agency.