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We won't allow to plunder
the National Oil Fund
Appeal of Kazakh politicians to Chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young Global
James Turley
Chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young Global
Dear Mr. Turley:
We, the undersigned members of Kazakhstan Parliament, editors of
newspapers and leading political activists are writing to you concerning your recent
engagement to audit the proper the National Oil Fund of Kazakhstan.
The Fund is composed of assets derived from natural resources belonging to the people of
Kazakhstan and has recently been described by President Nazarbayev as representing the
future of our children. However, we have serious concerns about this Fund given the
absence of any transparency and the fact that only Mr. Nazarbayev and his direct
appointees have had access to the information concerning its management. For example,
nobody in our country (except for Mr. Nazarbayev and few other people who are controlled
by him) know which exact part of the country’s oil revenues is being transferred to the
Fund, how it is being accounted for and how it is being invested or spent.
We do know, however, that hundreds of millions dollars of Kazakhstan’s oil money has
already being misappropriated and stolen by Mr. Nazarbayev and his family. Millions of
dollars, which Mr. Nazarbayev and his relatives and cronies tried to steal from their own
citizens, are already effectively frozen in Switzerland. The US Department of Justice and
two grand juries are presently investigating separate oil related criminal activities
concerning President Nazarbayev.
Attempts on behalf of Kazakhstani Parliament and society to supervise or, at least,
oversee the Fund have been effectively blocked by Mr. Nazarbayev's regime.
Accounting firms can not change repressive and criminal political regimes and uproot
corrupt leaders. But, just as you suggested in your Op-Ed article in The Wall Street
Journal on 02/04/2002, they can perform their important work of auditing public any other
funds in an honest and professional manner. We understand that you are being paid
significant amounts of money to perform the audit of the National Oil Fund of Kazakhstan.
We would like to encourage you to demand from you clients openness and transparency in
managing this part of KZ public money. Your management recommendations for the
appointment of independent members of the Board of Directors for this Fund, open public
access to the annual reports and publication of all transactions of KZ National Oil Fund
would be an appropriate part of your audit and should be given priority.
During the past 10 years of our independence there has not been a single day when oil was
not extracted from Kazakhstan’s reserves and sold. Unfortunately, the economic situation
and standards of living in our country became only worse. During this period, Kazakhstan
pulled out of IMF to avoid opening its books and explaining the mechanism of budgeting.
Recent newspaper reports of the US Department of Justice investigations described
existence of multitude of off the books off shore accounts originated in Kazakhstan and
"privatized" Kazakhstani public funds. Unless we are proven wrong, we suspect
that Ernst & Young was hired to "legitimize" and endorse this ongoing
process of theft and looting of our country by the corrupt regime.
The recent Arthur Andersen / Enron scandal, which has exposed serious problems in the
accounting industry, should be a wake up call to everyone involved in the supervision of
public funds. The result of your audit should not be to help the corrupt Nazarbayev regime
steal money from the people of Kazakhstan. Rather, your work should prompt and enforce
honest and transparent financial practices in Kazakhstan and help break through our
horrible past.
Sincerely,
Shamil Abiltay – famous worker of culture;
Serikbolsyn Abdidlin – Majilis (Kazakh Parliament) deputy; first secretary,
Kazakhstan Communist Party Central Committee;
Bakhtybay Aynabekov – president, religious association Kazakhstan Kazhilary;
Dametken Alenova – chair, public association Yedinstvo;
Karishal Asanov – prisoner of conscience, recipient of the Hellman-Hammett prize;
Sapabek Asipuly – chair, movement Azat;
Marzhan Aspandiyarova – Center for Civilized Politics;
Yermurat Bapi – editor-in-chief, newspaper SolDat;
Gulzhan Yergaliyev – chair, United Democratic Party Organizing Commitee (ODP);
Aidar Zhambylov – director, independent newspaper “Segodnya-Bugin”;
Sakhip Zhanabayeva – leader, Workers' Movement Solidarity;
Berik Zhilkibayev – professor, PhD (philology);
Gabbas Kabyshuly – famous writer;
Tamara Kaleyeva – president, Foundation for Freedom of Speech
"Adilsoz";
Amirzhan Kosanov – executive committee chair, Republican People's Party of
Kazakhstan (RNPK);
Almira Kusainova – director, Center for Democracy Support;
Seidakhmet Kuttykadam – leader, movement Orleu (Progress);
Nurbulat Masanov – president, Kazakhstan's Political Scientists Association;
Bakytgul Makimbay – director, Kazakh Center for Public Dissemination of
Independent Information;
Tynymbay Nurmagambetov – famous writer;
Irina Savostina – leader, movement Pokolenije (Generation);
Petr Svoik – acting chair, party Azamat;
Boris Sorokin – Majilis deputy (Kazakh Parliament);
Rozlana Taukina – president, Association of Independent Electronic Mass Media;
Temirtas Tleulesov – exiled writer;
Baltash Tursumbayev – public figure, former Kazakh vice premier;
Arken Uak – prisoner of conscience, victim of December 1986 genocide.
05 Mar 2002
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