The EU’s 21st Russia sanctions package targets two Kazakhstani firms, three Kyrgyz companies, a Kyrgyz bank connected to Russia’s SWIFT alternative, and 14 cryptocurrency platforms, as Brussels escalates pressure on Central Asian trade and financial channels.
Kazakhstan’s Supreme Audit Chamber has presented parliament with findings of financial losses, expired drugs dispensed to patients, and price markups of up to 600 percent in the public drug procurement system — triggering an unprecedented legal threat from the Health Ministry and calls for sweeping reform.
From the paralysis of dual power after Nazarbayev’s 2019 resignation to the post-January 2022 prosecutions of security chiefs, oligarchs and former ministers, Kazakhstan’s anti-corruption drive has returned more than $1.5 billion in assets from a single convict alone — while leaving other members of the old guard untouched.
