KZBlog

After prosecuting James Giffen for seven years, Giffen pled guilty to avoiding paying taxes by failing to give information about a foreign bank account in his 1996 tax return. As for the accusation that he bribed government officials in Kazakhstan for oil deals to the tune of $84 million, well apparently consultants will be consultants.

Steve Levine, author of The Oil and the Glory, has been the go-to-guy to read about this case and he predicted that Giffen was trying to prolong things by claiming he was ordered by the CIA to try to bribe Kazakh officials. Apparently, the government would prefer to drop the charges of bribery rather than reveal intelligence documents.

Kazakhstan has been quiet about this case and many citizens don’t even know about it. However $84 million found in secret bank accounts was frozen in 2007. That money is independently managed and is being used to help children and increase oil industry transparency in Kazakhstan. However allegations go unanswered that Giffen paid for:

…expensive speedboats, fur coats, jewelry, and tuition for a Nazarbayev daughter to an exclusive Swiss school.