Nearly two decades ago, Nursultan Nazarbayev, the then-doughy dictator of Kazakhstan, came hat-in-hand to the George W. Bush White House, desperate to make a deal. The post-Soviet strongman had a problem: The Department of Justice (DOJ) had accused Nazarbayev of gob-smacking bribery. Per the DOJ, the Kazakh leader had put the squeeze on a range of hydrocarbon companies, hoping to tap the country’s vast oil wealth. Those companies reciprocated by funnelling tens of million of dollars to Kazakhstan’s kleptocrat-in-chief. All run through Swiss bank accounts, the ill-gotten gains provided Nazarbayev with luxe creature comforts such as snowmobiles, fur coats, and …read more
Source:: The New Republic
