KZBlog

According to the Sunday Times, Two MI6 agents may have assisted Dariga Nazarbayeva in collecting information. Recall that Nazarbayeva, the daughter of the President of Kazakhstan, hired a variety of consultants to collect information about the Kazakhgate trial, a fact that came to light when Rakhat Aliyev, Nazarbayeva’s ex-husband, threatened to publish the reports. The reports allegedly contain personal information about key witnesses and secret information about the progress of the trial.

Now accusations have come forward that two agents serving in the British Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, leaked information to Global Options Management, a private consulting firm that was hired by the Nazarbayev family.

According to the Sunday Times:

One MI6 officer is said to have divulged that MI6 was “closely observing” the role of Hurricane Hydrocarbons, a Canadian oil company, and financial arrangements involving oilfields in Kazakhstan. A second MI6 officer is alleged to have revealed information that the service held on Akezhan Kazhegeldin, the former Kazakh prime minister. The report also contains information that it claims was given by Scotland Yard detectives.

These reports, if true, obviously compromise British Intelligence, Global Options for using illegal information, and the Nazarbayev family. However, the British government says that the report by Global Options Management does not coincide with MI6’s reports and it has been suggested that the consultants that compiled the report may have embellished or distorted information that they received. The Kazakhstan embassy in London “denied that his government had been involved in any inappropriate or illegal activity.”

However the plot thickens:

The company is chaired by Alexander Mirtchev, who is an economic adviser to the Kazakhstan government and a director of the country’s sovereign wealth fund. Political opponents of the Kazakh regime claim that Mirtchev is Nazarbayev’s “point man” in Washington and that he helps to manage some of the Kazakh leader’s wealth.

Mirtchev last week declined to comment. Matt Lauer, his spokesman, said: “Alexander Mirtchev is a respected business consultant based in the United States who rigorously abides by the laws and regulations of any country in which he operates.”

Privately, aides said Mirtchev was “aware” of a report. But, shown a copy of the relevant extracts of the report, they declined to comment publicly.