Bank disputes in Astana between West and East

Jusan Bank has been returned by the government to its owners through an international agreement in an ongoing dispute since 2019. In the background is the cleanup and eradication of the Nazarbaev family's power ramifications carried out by Tokaev limiting trauma to the "Father of the Fatherland." But also the redefinition of spheres of influence over Kazakhstan with the gradual exit of Russia.

Astana (AsuaNews) - In Kazakhstan, the financial scandal over the control of Jusan Bank, one of the country's largest banks, appears to be receding into the background, having incorporated Tsesna Bank, founded in 1992 as one of the first banks of the post-Soviet era. Jusan is linked to the international group consisting of Abn Amro and Rbs, and supports many high schools, including Nazarbaev University.

The Astana government had taken control of the bank, which has now been returned to its owners through an international agreement, described as "a final word to the great dispute over revenue sharing in the post-Nazarbaev period." Behind this diatribe are the shadows of the financial centers of Europe and America, with the very interested gaze of China.

The agreement with the Jusan Group grants full control of the bank to minority shareholder Galimžan Esenov, the Bloomberg news agency also confirms.

A 41-year-old businessman from Almaty, a mediating figure among many interests, Esenov is also known as the creator of the Scientific-Educational Foundation named after his father, academician Šakhmardan Esenov, a great geologist and politician in Kazakhstan's recent history, but also an organizer of sports competitions such as the Almaty Marathon, and a patron of various humanitarian initiatives such as Dom Mamy to assist single mothers.

Jusan's shares were sold to Esenov by the British company Jusan Technologies, which is linked to Nazarbaev's funds.

The dispute had been ongoing since 2019, after the resignation of the first "eternal president," and the spirit of "constructive regulation" of related conflicts is the guiding line of successor Kasym-Žomart Tokaev, in an attempt to de-Nazarbaevanize Kazakhstan without too much trauma and without inflicting unnecessary humiliation on the ex-Elbasy, the "Father of the Homeland."

After all, despite the many operations to clean up and uproot the power ramifications of the Nazarbaev family, the ex-president can certainly count on numerous other submerged funds at home and abroad.

The president also recently signed a decree to return profits illegally transferred across the border, and the deal on Jusan lends some credibility to this operation. The situation had come to a head last February when the Almaty prosecutor's office exposed as irregular the deal between Pioneer Capital Invest and Jusan Technologies, which allegedly transferred very large sums to foreign jurisdictions out of control.

The British company, along with U.S. shareholder Jysan Holding, had sued the Kazakh government in the Federal District of Nevada, accusing Astana of "conducting a campaign of intimidation for the purpose of taking control of the company's Kazakh profits in excess of .5 billion."

On June 13, the Astana Ministry of Justice had decreed that the Jusan Group "shall be returned to the jurisdiction of Kazakhstan," without specifying on the basis of what agreements, relying on confidential documents. Esenov had in turn sued Jusan, demanding compensation for his share and dividends.

After intense negotiations, the agreement provides for a recalculation of shares in favor of Esenov, who also owns Atf Bank, now merged with Jusan. In addition to control of the bank, the patron is also granted a 9 percent stake in the company Kazakhtelekom, and 15 percent of the mobile operator Kcell.

According to Bloomberg, Esenov has reportedly agreed to fund Nazarbaev University and other schools linked to the former president's figure, with the backing of Nevada's New Generation Foundation.

The fight over Jusan is just one example of the redefinition of spheres of influence in Kazakhstan and all of Central Asia, after Russia's gradual spillover from its areas of control, being too busy with the war in Ukraine. The money that the Kazakh government manages to find and lock in is only part of a whirlwind of funding at various levels, and it is often precisely the educational and welfare institutions that are instruments of social, political and economic entrenchment in the vast terrain of Central Asia.