Representatives of the Democratic Forces in Kazakhstan Demand U.S. Oil ‘Bonuses’ to Corrupt Politicians and Consultants Be Returned to Kazakh PeopleKazakhstan 21st Century Foundation press release, Wednesday 10 January 2001, 8:29 am Eastern TimeWASHINGTON, Jan. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Thirty-three political leaders of the oil rich Soviet Central Asian country of Kazakhstan have sent a letter to Members of Congress and the U.S. Justice Department requesting that any funds confiscated by the U.S. government as a result of the Department of Justice investigation focusing on corrupt payments involving Kazakhstan President Nursultan A. Nazarbayev and American trade consultant James Giffen be returned to the people of Kazakhstan. Signatories of the letter include: Serikbolsyn Abdil'din, Presidential Candidate of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Member of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Gennadij Beliakov, Executive Committee Chairman of the Association of Russian, Slavic and Kazakh Public Unions of Kazakhstan; Irina Savostina, Leader of the Republican Movement of Pensioners "Generation," along with 30 other political and cultural leaders of Kazakhstan, including four current Members of Parliament. "The U.S. Department of Justice is trying to determine how, with the assistance of U.S. citizen James Giffen, an advisor to the President of Kazakhstan, N. A. Nazarbayev, hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars have been transferred over several years through Swiss banks, Caribbean companies and funds registered in Liechtenstein into the private accounts of key political figures of Kazakhstan," reads the letter. "It has become known to us that should the investigations are able to prove the guilt of those American and Kazakh suspects in this case, who managed to create an international system of corruption and blackmail in order to get access to Kazakhstan oil, and a system of laundering of this money, then all the funds in the blocked accounts will be confiscated. These funds should be returned to the Kazakh population, which is in a miserable condition now; otherwise, the people will suffer again for the crimes committed by several high-ranked Kazakh figures who made fortunes selling natural resources belonging to the country. "We would not want hundreds of millions of dollars paid by western companies as bonuses for oil extraction in Kazakhstan simply to be confiscated. We think that the Kazakh people have a right to this money, and therefore the money has to be returned to its rightful owner." The Kazakhstan leaders further state, "With your support and initiative, we are ready to create an independent public fund to control the use of these funds." The following is a copy of the letter:
Almaty, Kazakhstan An Open Letter to Members of Congress From Representatives of the Democratic Forces in KazakhstanThe democratic forces in Kazakhstan are closely following the investigations being conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice. This scandal, known as "Kazakhgate," has been broadly covered by Western mass media. The U.S. Department of Justice is trying to determine how, with the assistance of U.S. citizen James Giffen, an advisor to the President of Kazakhstan, N. A. Nazarbayev, hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars have been transferred over several years through Swiss banks, Caribbean companies and funds registered in Liechtenstein into the private accounts of key political figures of Kazakhstan. It has become known to us that should the investigations are able to prove the guilt of those American and Kazakh suspects in this case, who managed to create an international system of corruption and blackmail in order to get access to Kazakhstan oil, and a system of laundering of this money, then all the funds in the blocked accounts will be confiscated. These funds should be returned to the Kazakh population, which is in a miserable condition now; otherwise, the people will suffer again for the crimes committed by several high-ranked Kazakh figures who made fortunes selling natural resources belonging to the country. We do not have any grounds to question the sincerity of U.S. efforts to eradicate corruption not only in the United States, but also in those countries where this disease is propagated by the local authorities themselves. This corruption destroys the system of government of Kazakhstan, and it affects business negatively, including foreign investment. The case with American oil companies is one more indication that corrupt practices could become the norm even for American companies. We have a saying that a bad example can be contagious. The danger is that the negative lessons learned abroad by American businessman may be domesticated in the U.S. as well. We support the efforts of the U.S. Congress and prosecutors in their fight against the common enemy -- corruption. Our appeal is by no means an attempt to intervene in the process of American justice. We only want to bring to the attention of the U.S. Congress and prosecutors in the U.S. Department of Justice the point of view of the democratic forces of Kazakhstan that they cannot accept that all the Kazakh people should suffer due to the fault of certain mercenary Kazakh politicians and corrupt American businessmen. We would not want hundreds of millions of dollars paid by western companies as bonuses for oil extraction in Kazakhstan simply to be confiscated. We think that the Kazakh people have a right to this money, and therefore the money has to be returned to its rightful owner. The return of this money to our country should benefit its legal owner -- the people of Kazakhstan -- by financing pensions, subsidies, stipends, and allotments for education and culture. This will be considered by these people as a most fair act. Our concern about the situation surrounding "Kazakhgate" is also heightened by the fact that this substantially damages the prestige of our country. Kazakhstan's reputation suffers because of dishonest acts of high- ranked officials. Therefore, we are deeply interested in a full investigation of this case and in holding the culprits responsible. It has come to our attention that hearings on corruption in Central Asian countries may take place soon in the U.S. Congress. In this regard, we, as representatives of the democratic population of Kazakhstan, express our readiness to take part in these hearings, and to report to Congress on the situation of corruption in our country. With your support of our initiative, we are ready to create an independent public fund to control the use of these funds. Sincerely,
SOURCE: Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation |
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