KZBlog

Frank Giustra, the businessman who is making headlines for his alleged deal with Kazakhstan government officials in order to get uranium rights, has put out a press release listing the inaccuracies that the Bloomberg Press Service has made in covering the story. Among the errors Giustra cites:

Bloomberg: Giustra was negotiating with the Kazakhstan government to buy controlling stakes in three uranium mines.

Fact: The negotiations were with private companies, not the government…

Bloomberg: In November, 2005, Giustra flew back to Kazakhstan for another meeting with the President of Kazakhstan to get the uranium deal back on track.

Fact: There was no such meeting.

Bloomberg: Giustra stipulated that funds donated by him or Canadian mining companies to the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative, which is aimed at fighting poverty and building sustainable economies in developing countries, be deployed where he does most of his business.

Fact: The work of the initiative is, in fact, global, with a particular focus on helping local economies where mining takes place. In other words, the world’s mining sector is giving something back that can be sustained long after mining is finished. There is no “stipulation” that funds be spent only in countries where Giustra has business interests. In fact, of the several programs being introduced on March 1, only one will be in a country where Giustra is doing business.

Giustra also criticized in general terms the New York Times article which broke the story as being inaccurate. However he does not directly dispute the basic facts that he met once with Nazarbayev and President Clinton, that his company acquired uranium rights in Kazakhstan, or that he has made large donations to Clinton’s charity.

The Bloomberg story, like those in both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, contains errors of fact, uses innuendo, and omits key facts, either intentionally or through a lack of due diligence, to construct an article designed to suggest improprieties in the relationship where none exist.

The head of KazAtomProm in a recent interview also gave a similar response to the effect that something happened, but it was nothing illegal. He alleged that the American journalists who claim impropriety were paid by someone trying to defame Hilary Clinton and her Presidential campaign.