In our recent publication on the public confrontation between Kazakhstan’s Public Prosecution Office and the Anti-Corruption Agency related to the case of Deputy Governor of the Almaty Region Bagdat Manzorov, we assume that, even though these events do inflict a significant damage on the Kazakh authoritarian political system and on both Presidents, they will not manage to shove the story under the rug in a quick manner. Why do we think so?
Because the story involves too many interested parties. Apart from Manzorov himself, we are talking about his secret protectors from the top of the Kazakh elite as well as their various opponents, the top-officials and employees of the Public Prosecution Office and the Anti-Corruption Agency performing their official duties or, alternatively, abusing them upon the orders coming from the above; the people who are keen on Bagdat Manzorov losing his chair and, therefore, his influence and, vice versa, those who wish that he keeps his post.
In the article, we express hope that both Akorda and «the Library» will react openly to these events. And underscore that, if they do not show a reaction, it will only confirm the idea that some very serious people have indeed intervened on behalf of Manzorov. Among the latter, we have named two of the closest relatives of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev: his brother Bolat Nazarbayev and his nephew Akhmetzhan Esimov who, currently, serves we the Chairman of the Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund. We have also explained why we think so.
And now anonymous Telegram-channel Uzyn Qulaq has join the discussion. On one hand, the resource shows a rather high level of awareness of what is going on in Akorda and in «the Library», on the other hand, clearly, it is pursuing some political goals; so far, we do not know what they are.
You can find more information on this resource in the article Who Works for Uzyn Qulaq. A Hypothesis published by KZ.MEDIA (text available in Russian).
Now then, in its post of November 5, 2019, Uzyn Qulaq claims the following:
«The assets Bagdat Manzorov has in his possession can approximately be estimated at US500 $ mln. Here is the list of the assets:
- Marketplace KarCity Bak-Orda, Ryskulova St., 106/216;
- Marketplace Bak-Orda, Yrysty St., 46/2a;
- Marketplace Kazyna, Severnoye koltso St., 34;
- Hotel Shagan, Raiymbek Ave., 237B;
- Hotel Grand Aizer Hotel, Pozharskogo St., 1;
- Shopping center Alatau, Ryskulova Ave., 103/3;
- Shopping center Eurasia Zholdasbekova St., 9a.
All this has been acquired by Manzorov thanks to the protection of Akhmetzhan Esimov and then Bauyrzhan Baybek. So, for example, in 2008, right after Esimov had been appointed the Governor of Almaty, Manzorov was made the Governor of the Alatau region created especially for him. He had been in charge of it until 2017. When Baybek became the Governor of Almaty, Manzorov was appointed the Head of the Almaty City State Department for Architecture and Construction Supervision where he was overseeing the land related matters, the giving away of construction licenses and even of apartment remodeling permits.
It was with the help of Manzorov’s hand that Baybek had managed to take away the 5.5 ha and the Atakenta parking lot from the Kazakhfilm motion picture studio. Also, via Manzorov’s hand, Baybek had taken away the state-owned land to be used for chargeable parking facility for the Almaty Parking company (his joint venture with Dariga Nazarbayeva’s co-father-in-law Boranbayev).
A significant part of Bagdat Manzorov’s fortune is Bauyrzhan Baybek’s money. De-facto, Manzorov is Baybek’s „wallet“.
The powerful information campaign organized by Manzorov (that involved the sell-out bloggers such as Denis Krivosheyev) as well as the employment of his connections (the protectors from the Public Prosecution Office and the „Shaprashtin clan“) have resulted in a temporary victory over justice».
So, if we are to believe Uzyn Qulaq, Bagdat Manzorov has not two but three protectors, and all of them belong to the same clan as Nursultan Nazarbayev; with that, two of them are the Leader of the Nation’s close relatives while the third one is the latter’s closest ally since, currently, Bauyrzhan Baybek holds the position of the First Deputy President of ruling party Nur Otan.
You must admit that, with such powerful «protection blankets», the current Deputy Governor of the Almaty Region may disregard both the law and the Anti-Corruption Agency without any consequences for himself.
All this, by the way, explains why certain top-officials from the Public Prosecution Office had chosen to assume the risk and took the bribe from the guilty official, and in such a small amount too (from their perspective) — only 2 $ mln. For, de-facto, the issue was resolved not by these people, the top-officials of the country’s main supervisory body whose names have not yet been made public but by those who stand above them. Therefore, the prosecutors were not risking anything personally, and the 2 $ mln had become a decent payment for their services related to the preparing and the signing of the necessary documents.
The said scheme, albeit an illegal one, is quite rational from the point of view of the Kazakh market and the market-related risks and, therefore, can be put in operation.
