Kazakhs Pressed to Pay for Oil Expropriations

摘要

Kazakhstan is refusing to pay out a $500 million-plus debt to its long-time nemesis, Moldovan tycoon Anatoly Stati, even after lawyers acting on his behalf secured court injunctions in the Netherlands and Belgium freezing more than $28 billion worth of Kazakh government assets (NC Dec.28'17). These include the 8.44% stake in the giant offshore Kashagan project held by sovereign wealth fund, Samruk-Kazyna, which has an estimated value of more than $5 billion, and $22.6 billion in funds belonging to Kazakhstan's national oil fund that are held in custody in the UK by Bank of New York Mellon.