53 corrupt officials including Ablyazov and Khrapunov keep hiding abroad

Astana. December 8. KazTAG- 53 corrupt officials including Ablyazov and Khrapunov keep hiding abroad, said Kairat Kozhamzharov, chairman of the agency for state service affairs and corruption combat.
"Ex ministers and akims embezzling over $8 bn keep on hiding abroad. (...) In the past 10 years 152 out of 205 corrupt officials have been returned to Kazakhstan," he said at the international anti-corruption conference.
Among ex highly ranked officials of Kazakhstan accused of corruption are Viktor Khrapunov, ex akim of Almaty and his wife, and Mukhtar Ablyazov, fugitive ex head of BTA bank.
"We believe despite politicization of their status they will not avoid responsibility," he said.
According to K. Kozhamzharov, the agency is working on bringing M. Ablyazov to trial. He said the Government has found the ways to prevent withdrawal of funds from the state, like it was in the case with the fugitive banker.
"We have operative control now, the databases of all the state bodies are unified, and there is a uniform platform. We trace monetary movement and its designation," he said.