| Kulibayev, dubbed Kazakhstan's "oil prince," built his vast fortune as an oil and gas tycoon whose close ties to the Kazakh elite fueled his rise in a series of powerful state-owned energy companies and trade associations.
A representative for Kulibayev declined to comment on any proposed agreement, describing his client as a "patriot" and philanthropist invested in the Central Asian country's future success. The representative said it was "categorically incorrect to refer to any contributions as asset recovery" — a term used in relation to a government program to reclaim funds allegedly improperly obtained by wealthy, politically influential people in the Nazarbayev years.
Media reports of a possible deal first emerged in November 2024, two weeks after ICIJ sent detailed questions to Kulibayev and his attorneys about his business dealings and the role Western oil companies, chasing a stake in a critical oil pipeline, may have played in enriching him.
"Mr Kulibayev has never been charged with criminal conduct by the Government of Kazakhstan, the Asset Recovery Committee of the General Prosecutor's Office in Kazakhstan or any other Kazakh authority," his attorneys said in response to additional questions sent by ICIJ in January. Read more here.
SANCTIONS LOBBYING
A U.S. political strategist says an Uzbek businessman asked him to lobby for sanctions against a huge cement manufacturer owned by a political and business rival over the business's alleged Russia links. The campaign gives a window onto the world of sanctions lobbying — a bustling cottage industry in Washington since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. CRYPTO CONCEALMENT
A Montreal entrepreneur — who was the subject of a Pandora Papers investigation — is set to spend an additional three and a half years in a U.S. prison for hiding tens of millions of dollars worth of bitcoin in an undeclared account following an earlier cryptocurrency-related criminal conviction.
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Joanna Robin
ICIJ's digital editor
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