KAZAKHSTAN: ALLEGED SARSENBAIULY MURDER MASTERMIND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ALMATY 000733

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN (MUDGE); DRL/PHD (KUCHTA-HELBLING)D

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/22/2015
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KZ POLITICAL
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: ALLEGED SARSENBAIULY MURDER MASTERMIND
DETAINED

REF: A. ALMATY 576

B. ALMATY 651 (NOTAL)

C. ALMATY 692 (NOTAL)

D. ALMATY 717 (NOTAL)

Classified By: CDA MARK ASQUINO, FOR REASONS 1.4(B) and (D)


1. (C) Summary: Kazakhstani law enforcement officials have
detained the alleged mastermind of the Sarsenbaiuly murder
(reftels),current Head of the Senate Administration, Yerzhan
Utembayev. Utembayev was detained on February 22, after the
alleged murderer (in custody but unidentified -- hereafter
"A1") fingered Utembayev as the originator of the murder
plot. MVD officials told LEGAT that, other than A1's
accusation, they have no evidence against Utembayev and no
clear motive. Overnight, the MVD also arrested A1's driver, a
former KNB agent; and released Utembayev's assistant.
President Nazarbayev accepted the resignation tendered by KNB
Chief Nartai Dutbayev on February 22.


2. (SBU) Summary (continued): Kazakhstani news services began
carrying news of Utembayev's detention late on the evening of
February 22. At a February 23 press conference in Almaty,
leaders of Sarsenbaiuly's political block, FJK (For a Just
Kazakhstan),argued that the "non-political" Utembayev was
not the type of person to order a murder, and called for the
resignation of Utembayev's boss, Senate President Nurtay
Abykayev. End Summary.

Head of Senate Administration Detained
--------------


3. (C) MVD officials detained Utembayev on the evening of
February 22 as he left an Astana hospital, where he was
seeking unspecified medical treatment. MVD officials told
LEGAT that A1 had identified Utembayev as the man who had
ordered and paid for Sarsenbaiuly's murder. Due to a lack of
corroborating evidence, however, the MVD detained, rather
than arrested, Utembayev. (Note: According to Kazakhstani
statutes, law enforcement authorities can detain and question
a suspect for 24 hours without filing formal charges. End
Note.) The MVD told LEGAT that, other than A1's accusation,
they lacked evidence, or a motive, tying Utembayev to the
crime.

One Suspect Released; Another Arrested
--------------


4. (C) On February 23 the MVD released Utembayev's
unidentified "assistant" after questioning him for the
prescribed 24-hour period. MVD sources told LEGAT that while
they believe the assistant is Utembayev's co-conspirator,
they lack sufficient evidence to file formal charges. On
February 22 the MVD also located and arrested A1's driver --
an unidentified ex-KNB agent (the sixth current or former KNB
agent arrested in this case) whom the MVD believe helped A1
carry out the actual murders.

FBI Lends Assistance in Tracing Money
--------------


5. (C) The MVD has recovered much of the $25,000 reportedly
paid to A1 and the five KNB kidnappers to commit the murders.
The money consists of new $100 bills belonging to six
different sequential serial number groups. (This indicates
that the bills had not previously been circulated.) The FBI
is tracing the money from its origin in the U.S. to the
Kazakhstani banking system. Upon determination of which
Kazakhstani bank received and disseminated the bills, the MVD
will interview the bank officials in hopes of determining who
withdrew the money from the bank. Based on A1's statements,
the MVD believes that Utembayev likely withdrew the money.)

KNB Chief Resigns
--------------


6. (SBU) President Nazarbayev formally accepted the
resignation tendered by KNB Chief Nartai Dutbayev on February

22. Speaking to the press about his resignation, Dutbayev
said that he had resigned because the investigation had
revealed that members of the KNB's "Arystan" paramilitary
team had "betrayed the interests of the people and entered
into criminal collusion." Discussion of the reasons for his
resignation and impact will be discussed via septel. Dariga
Nazarbayeva, the President's eldest daughter and head of the
ASAR party, called for the Arystan group to be disbanded.

Sarsenbaiuly's Colleagues Voice Skepticism
--------------


7. (SBU) In a February 23 press conference, FJK opposition
leaders voiced skepticism that Utembayev was, in fact, the
mastermind of the crime. Utembayev was not a "political
person," FJK Co-Chairman Oraz Zhandosov said, and had never
been involved in political intrigue. It was "impossible for
him alone to organize and carry out this assassination." The
FJK leaders called for Abykaev's resignation, arguing that,
as Senate Chairman and the person in-line to secede the
President, he held enormous power and might influence the
direction of the investigation. (Asked after the press
conference if he thought Abykaev was the true "mastermind" of
the crime, Zhandosov acknowledged that he did not know of any
personal or business motive which could have driven Abykaev
to organize the crime.)


8. (U) In a written statement released earlier in the day,
the "Independent Public Commission," organized by the
opposition to investigate the crime, suggested that the
involvement of the KNB agents was sufficient evidence that
the crime was "political," and that therefore the authorities
should broaden their investigation and question individuals
beyond Sarsenbaiuly's friends and associates. Specifically,
the group called for the authorities to question several
"political" figures about the murder, including Deputy
Foreign Minister Rakhat Aliev, his wife, ASAR Party leader
and First Daughter Dariga Nazarbayeva, Vice President of the
National Railroad Company (and presidential nephew) Kairat
Satybaldy, and Eurasia Group industrial oligarchs Alexander
Mashkevich, Patokh Shodiyev, and Alidzhon Ibragimov.


9. (U) Bio Note: Utembayev is the current Head of Senate
Administration. From 2000 to 2004 he served as Deputy Head
of the Presidential Administration, and from 1999-2000 as
Deputy Prime Minister. At different times, he has served as
the Chairman of the Board of Directors of National Railroad
Company, the Development Bank of Kazakhstan, and KazakhOil.
ASQUINO