Translated with AI
In Kazakhstan, they have proposed confiscating property from relatives of corrupt officials – if they cannot explain the legality of its origin. A letter justifying the so-called "extended confiscation" was written to Prosecutor General Berik Asylov by Majilis member Marat Bashimov, Tengrinews.kz reports.
"Soon, an important bill against money laundering will be submitted to the first reading in the Majilis. It includes 100 amendments, legal norms recommended by the international organization FATF (Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering – ed.). The institute of "extended confiscation" is extremely important for our country. Nowhere in the world has so much been stolen. Therefore, I wrote a letter to the Prosecutor General Berik Asylov asking for support in this matter," the Majilis member said.
According to him, in almost all countries, the recommendations of the international organization FATF have been incorporated into legislation, but in Kazakhstan, “lobbyists of all stripes, especially oligarchs, have slowed down this process.”
"Now, because this rule does not exist and assets are rewritten to third parties, many escape responsibility, their property is not confiscated in full, and the convicted person "sits" calmly, knowing that what was rewritten to third parties, relatives, mistresses, and so on, was not taken away from him. And he will enjoy these assets and money tomorrow," the deputy argued.
Extended confiscation may only be applied to property the legality of which the person cannot explain.
"The mechanism proposed is as follows: the person against whom pre-trial proceedings have been initiated is asked to prove the legality of the acquisition of the remaining property. If he cannot prove it, then it is subject to confiscation," explained Marat Bashimov.
Last fall, Kazakhstan executed its first court order on unexplained wealth. More than 10 million dollars of unexplained origin were confiscated from a Kazakhstani.
