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In modern Kazakhstan, level of activity of high-level government workers in the media is similar to the place that their counterparts in the Soviet Union occupied at the tribune of the Masoleum during demonstrations at the Red Square in Moscow or presidiums of various convocations. The former and the latter indirectly speak of the political well-being of an individual figure and most importantly of where its career is headed up or down.
It is possible that Baglan Maylibaev won’t get away with just a prison sentence. Based on our information, a new criminal investigation is in process against him, started by anti-corruption agency. It is talking about embezzling of government funds in large amounts.
The law-enforcement “dance” around BTA Bank it seems has started its second round. This time though, the investigation will not concern those who worked at the bank when Mukhtar Ablyazov was in charge. It will affect the so called “rescuers” who came to the bank after its nationalization. The “hit” list is promising to be a long one.
The well-known fact that, even without the Astana financial center, Kazakhstan is, essentially, an offshore economy is going to be one of most complicated and practically unsolvable problems for Akorda during the transition period. The matter is that offshore companies control a significant part of the economy especially the high-income enterprises such as oil and gas industry, non-ferrous metallurgy, and communications.
The latest resonant events on the domestic political battlefield in Kazakhstan (from the election legislature amendments to the noticeable weakening of some very influential figures in Akorda) show that the power transition preparation process is coming to a certain definitive point that can be deemed as a “crouch start”.
In the backdrop of the summit of member-states of the Shanghai cooperation organization in Astana, that has already been called a historic one in the media, and then EXPO 2017 public’s attention to domestic policy processes has somewhat weakened. At the same time they are developing at never before seen speed.
