Some time ago, the Kazakh media and Internet-resources learned the news that oligarch Bulat Utemuratov had allocated US6 $ mln for constructing 150 houses for the families affected by the devastating flood that happened in the Maktaaralsky district of the Turkestan region. And this is not at all an isolated case when the billionaire has shared money with those in need (not forgetting, of course, to inform the public of his generosity).
In our opinion, the reason for Bulat Utemuratov’s charitable actions (apart from a common humanity of course) lies in a political necessity.
The intro-elite confrontation that has noticeably aggravated after the transfer of the Presidential chair and authorities from Nursultan Nazarbayev to Kossym-Jomart Tokayev as well as the dramatic growth of the protest sentiment in the society have resulted in the situation when many influential people in Kazakhstan have found themselves exposed to the press, the Internet-resources, the bloggers and simple Internet-activists.
Which is logical since the people have massively started to search for those responsible for their problems and the low level of life. And more often than not, they find the guilty party in the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and among his relatives and allies.
What is surprising, however, is that some representatives of the Leader of the Nation’s immediate circle do manage to somehow escape the hatred of their fellow citizens. Among these lucky ones, one should, first of all, name Chief of the NSC Karim Masimov and dollar billionaire Bulat Utemuratov.
We believe that the main reason for why the public opinion overlooks this group lies in the deficit of the information about them as well as about their activities. In particular, talking about Masimov and Utemuratov, three factors largely contribute to their internal political invisibility.
- First, they have their own rather large media-groups that they use, among other things, to suppress negative information as well as transfer the press and public’s attention to other influential figures;
- second, they have an ability (confirmed by a longstanding practice) to keep somewhat away from the main lines of political confrontation as well as a possibility to appeal directly to the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the «Leader of the Nation» and solve the problems that arise;
- third, they possess serious leverage against other elite groups and persons of influence (although, perhaps, this factor is applicable to Karim Masimov only).
In our opinion, Bulat Utemuratov’s charitable activities are a part of a well-developed tactics when the public interest towards him is being satisfied via positive news. Of course, such tactics does not always end in success.
In view of this, the question arises — for how long will Utemuratov and some other allies of Nursultan Nazarbayev be able to stay in the background of political events?
We believe for not more than a year. And not only because the press, the Internet-resources, the bloggers and simple Internet-activists need new material and new anti-heroes. The thing is that other elite clans, groups and influential figures are very keen on transferring attention from themselves to others. Which, among other things, means that a kompromat against this person is bound to appear in the country’s information space.
As for Bulat Utemuratov who enjoys the reputation of quite a decent human being it will probably be the information on how he really earned his first billion.
Of course, there is no big secret here — he had simply appropriated state property, namely, natural resources fields and production facilities for their development. With the help of his team, he had tided them up a bit and then sold to foreign investors having received the shares of foreign concerns in exchange. However, in this instance, details are important: which local laws were violated, where the earned money went to and, most importantly, where abroad is it now hidden?
These are exactly the information hooks that will attract the attention of a very large number of Kazakhs. And, having received enough information, they will immediately add the philanthropist’s name (together with his relatives and allies) to the blacklist.
Apart from that, we expect that it will be those whom Utemuratov and his team offended that will appear in the information space of the country. Moreover, this process has already started which can be proved by the existence of an article called «Can Society Resist the Raiding» published by website «Exclusive». Obviously, it does not contain direct accusations but the hint can clearly be seen between the lines.
Of course, many people will restrain from attacking Bulat Utemuratov simply because he is still quite dangerous. For instance, we are certain that businessman Nurlan Smagulov will keep silent.
Many years ago he moved under Utemuratov’s «protection» (this happened after Mukhtar Ablyazov together with Galymzhan Zhakiyanov had initiated the creation of the first Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan for which both ended up behind bars) and a couple of years ago he left Utemuratov’s protection and embarked upon an independent journey. From the documents that we have in our possession we know how badly Bulat Utemuratov hurt Nurlan Smagulov. By the by, the latter has been replaced by certain Farrukh Makhmudov as a person representing Utemuratov’s business interests.
