A new report by the Corruption and Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) outlines how Kazakhstani government officials redirected a $48.8 million Swiss government “grant” to benefit the country’s elites. The Swiss government employed the World Bank to repatriate confiscated funds found during a criminal investigation and identified as belonging to the government of Kazakhstan. The money was characterized as Swiss development aid, rather than restituted funds stolen from the government through corruption. The new classification allowed officials to channel the funds to “GONGOs” (government organized non-governmental organizations) with close association to the ruling Nur Otan party.

CHRI’s findings reveal how the aid distribution was “tarnished by conflicts of interest, political patronage, evidence of fraud, and serious breaches of transparency and reporting requirements.” In particular, the report closely examines a $21.76 million sum entrusted to a group of “GONGOs” led by the Congress of Youth, whose chairperson is the president’s daughter. Read the report here for more.

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