When asked by openDemocracy why the assets were held via a UK company, Sarinzhipov said that the UK is “a good jurisdiction for holding companies (and British law)” and that neither Nazarbayev “nor any member of his family have any control over Jusan Technology nor can take over control”. He added: “It works only for university and schools. And this is protected by UK law as well.”
For transparency campaigners in the UK, the revelations over the wealth tied to the former Kazakhstani president are a reminder of problems associated with Britain’s corporate transparency regime.
“Clearly, there are concerns over governance and transparency in this structure – there seems to be little stopping Nazarbayev from selling these assets – but it may not be his personal cash cow,” said Thomas Mayne, a visiting fellow at Chatham House who has researched corruption in Central Asia.
“If this is the former president’s private wealth, then the question is: why put it in such a public structure?”
Ben Cowdock, investigations lead at Transparency International UK, said that the OCCRP investigation “highlighted the incredible wealth amassed by Kazakhstan’s political elite during their time in power”, which, on this occasion, had been “revealed as a result of Britain's corporate transparency regime”.
“If the British government was to deliver its longstanding promises to strengthen Companies House and unveil offshore owners of property here, then we might have a fuller view of suspect Kazakh funds entering and moving through our economy,” Cowdock added.
A spokesperson for Nazarbayev did not respond to requests for comment from OCCRP.
*Update, 4 July 2022: Since publication we have been contacted by a representative of Jusan Technology Ltd and Nazarbayev Foundation, who has made the following points, which we are happy to include here.
Jusan Technology has, in fact, net assets of US$1.6bn. (The number in the headline of this article represents its gross assets.)
Nazarbayev Foundation says that it no longer holds any interest legally or beneficially in Jusan Tech or its assets. Majority ownership of that company has passed to a US entity whose parent company is a registered US non-profit organisation.
Jusan Tech says that Nursultan Nazarbayev does not control it, it is not a subsidiary of his foundation and Nazarbayev does not control its assets. Nazarbayev Foundation likewise says that Nazarbayev does not control it and that he has no legal or beneficial interest in its assets.
Nazarbayev Foundation asserts that its objectives are a matter of Kazakh law and cannot be changed without parliamentary approval.
Both the foundation and the company say that their corporate structure is not opaque and strongly reject any negative inference in that respect. In particular, both bodies reject any inference that Jusan Tech exists to hold or conceal funds acquired by Nazarbayev.
Jusan Tech rejects any inference that QAZ42 may have purchased shares in it at an undervalue. It has told openDemocracy that the QAZ42 transaction was valued under guidance from a Big Four international accounting firm.
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