The Chairman of the Board of Kazakhstan Railways (KTZ), Yelzhas Otynshiev, was detained on suspicion of corruption. “Investigative measures are being carried out to establish all the circumstances of the case”, the Kazakh government said.
Otynshiyev has been leading KTZ since July. He was appointed by the head of Samruk-Kazyna, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, Nurlan Zhakupov, who owns the railway company. Zhakupov was also arrested on the same suspicion along with “other individuals”, the government said. Otynshiyev is also the Chairman of the Managing Board of TITR, the company managing the Middle Corridor.
The arrests were carried out on Wednesday, 11 November by Kazakhstan’s Anti-Corruption Service of the National Security Committee. “No further information regarding the progress of the pre-trial investigation may be disclosed”, the Kazakh government explained. The arrests do not mean that Otynshiev and Zhakupov are guilty.
KTZ and Samruk-Kazyna
KTZ is the main rail operator in Kazakhstan for freight and passenger services. The company plays a vital role in being a bridge between China and Europe along two of the three main rail routes connecting the two, including the Middle Corridor.
Samruk-Kazyna, on the other hand, is arguably the most important entity for Kazakhstan’s economy. Other than KTZ, it also owns the national gas and oil company KazMunayGas, the world’s largest uranium producer Kazaktomprom, grid operator KEGOC and Kazakhtelecom.
