«The murders were a sign that we could be next»
Viktor Khrapunov, currently living in exile in Geneva and formerly an important political leader in Kazakhstan, is wanted by Interpol. In this interview, he speaks about the accusations of economic crimes, about his family’s wealth, and about his conflict with the Kazakhstani dictator.
Mr. Khrapunov, You are wanted by Interpol – for money laundering, fraud and organized crime. What do you have to say in your defense?
These are trumped-up charges. Such machinations are typical for President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who established a dictatorship in Kazakhstan. He controls the police and the Ministry of Justice. Nazarbayev began a campaign against me because he regards me as his political enemy. The Interpol manhunt is an attempt to intimidate and silence me. He wishes to constrain my freedom of movement in order to prevent my engagement with opposition figures abroad. Nazarbayev is afraid that organized opposition to his regime will be formed abroad.
Let us first talk about your finances. The newspaper “Bilanz” has estimated your family’s fortune as 300 to 400 million Swiss francs. Where did this large amount of money come from?
At this point, I would like to dispel all these myths. What the “Bilanz” wrote is highly exaggerated. As mayor of the city of Almaty or as a government minister, I certainly did not amass a fortune. I did not have any Swiss bank accounts then and have none today. My family’s wealth comes primarily from my wife, who was a successful businesswoman in Kazakhstan. (Leila Khrapunova founded Kazahkstan’s first private TV station, and later led the company’s involvements in real estate, media, and a luxury goods business as well as in editing.) My two older children are currently living completely independently of us – from a financial perspective as well. My son Iliyas, for example, is a successful real estate entrepreneur. Neither my wife nor I are involved in Iliyas’ agency. I want to reiterate: we don’t belong on the “Bilanz’s” list of rich people.
So how large is the Khrapunov family fortune?
There is no need to specify a figure.
But you are very rich.
We are doing well, but we are not very rich. Compared to Nazarbayev’s enormous wealth, you could even say we are poor, although we are hardly on a level playing field.
Because of your considerable assets and your coming from a corrupt nation such as Kazakhstan, you have to anticipate some uncomfortable questions. Are there any legal proceedings against you in Switzerland?
I want to emphasize once again that my wife’s wealth by far does not match what the Kazakhstan media claims. The fact that Swiss newspapers have accepted these claims changes nothing. In Switzerland, we have never had any problems with the authorities. There have been no legal processes against us, and there are none now. I am convinced that no legal proceedings will ever be initiated. This is for one simple reason: I have never had a bank account in Switzerland. And I am also firmly convinced that I will never be extradited to Kazakhstan either. The Swiss authorities know very well that these accusations are politically motivated and fabricated.
From Geneva, you are conducting a political and personal feud with the Nazarbayev clan. But you were part of Kazakhstan’s political elite yourself for many years. How did it come to such a dispute with Nazarbayev?
When I was mayor of Almaty, conflicts with the Nazarbayev clan became more frequent. So, I refused to hand over control of the energy firm Almaty Power Consolidated, which was worth two billion dollars, to the President’s son-in-law. There were many other examples. In 2004 I was removed as mayor of Almaty and sent off instead to the post of Governor of East Kazakhstan. As a businesswoman, my wife Leila had been having her own share of problems with the Nazarbayev clan for some time. In the end, she was forced to sell her company. Nazarbayev people now own the firms that used to belong to my wife.
In 2007 Nazarbayev appointed you to his government for the second time – this time as Minister of Emergency Situations, after you had been Minister of Energy during the 1990s. You were a part of the Nazarbayev system for a long time.
That is not true. I had already been working for many years in the Almaty city administration before Nazarbayev seized power. I was a professional politician, never a servant of the Nazarbayev clan. I never did any favors for his children. I always kept my distance from the Nazarbayev people. Over time, my wife and I sensed that we would no longer be able to stay in Kazakhstan. I did not fear for my own safety, but for the safety of my family.
What happened then?
As the opposition became stronger, Nazarbayev began using even more violent methods to suppress it. He even ordered his political opponents to be liquidated. The opposition leader Zamanbek Nurkadilov, my predecessor as mayor of Almaty, was murdered after he demanded that Nazarbayev resign. Altynbek Sarsenbayev was another prominent opposition politician who was killed. Nurkadilov and Sarsenbayev knew a great deal about the system of illegal accumulation of wealth by the Nazarbayev clan. I was also and continue to be a bearer of such information. The murders were a sign that we could be next – either my wife or I. It was clear to us that we had to leave Kazakhstan.
Do you have proof that the Nazarbayev clan was behind the murders of Nurkadilov and Sarsenbayev?
Zamanbek Nurkadilov, for example, was found dead during the 2005 election campaign – with two bullets in his upper body and one bullet in his head. Officially, this was ruled a suicide. However, the facts speak for themselves.
Five years ago you fled to Switzerland. Why did you resettle in Geneva?
Our family has been present in Switzerland for many years. My children finished their studies in Geneva during the 1990s. When my wife was still an active businesswoman, she had close contacts with Swiss partners for various projects in Kazakhstan. For this reason, I had become familiar with and fond of the Swiss political system early on.
You left Kazakhstan because you feared for your family’s safety. Do you feel safe in Switzerland?
In the past two years, things have happened time and again that give us cause for concern. For example, former agents in the Kazakh secret service phoned me and forewarned that people were traveling to Geneva to spy on my family. We have repeatedly observed ourselves being followed by automobiles. Unknown persons attached a GPS device to my daughter-in-law’s car in order to track her movements. In addition, she was photographed and filmed. My wife was shadowed and contacted in London and Dubai by supposed private detectives. And so on. All of this leaves us feeling threatened.
How do you cope with it?
We are very aware and alert on a daily basis and observe carefully what is going on around us. In addition I have shared my concerns with Swiss authorities. And I petitioned for political asylum in Switzerland.
How bad is it for you that you may never get to go back to Kazakhstan again?
Switzerland is where we feel at home, our second homeland. The situation in Kazakhstan is painful for us, without any doubt. It is bad that we cannot see our relatives in Kazakhstan. What’s also bad is that there are people in Kazakhstan who have to suffer on account of us. To the extent that we can, we are carrying on the struggle from Geneva for a better democratic Kazakhstan. We do not hesitate to criticize the Nazarbayev regime and tell the truth. Nazarbayev is an unscrupulous dictator whose primary concern is enriching his clan. And we will be doing everything we can to be able to return to Kazakhstan one day.
Source: Tagen-Aizenger – «Die Morde waren ein Zeichen, dass wir die Nächsten sein könnten»
