Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee (KNB) has detained Nurlan Zhakupov, chairman of the management board of the sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna, on suspicion of a corruption offence, reported Tengrinews.
According to the KNB, its Anti-Corruption Service detained Zhakupov on November 11 together with Yelzhas Otynshiyev, head of the national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), and other people. Investigators are working on the case, but its details and the article of the Criminal Code have not been disclosed.
Zhakupov, 48, a graduate of MGIMO with a PhD in economics, worked for ENRC, Credit Suisse, RBS and UBS. He also represented Rothschild & Co in Kazakhstan, worked at Kazatomprom and headed the Astana social and business corporation. He was appointed to lead Samruk-Kazyna in April 2023. He is known for questioning the cost of Kazakhstan’s planned nuclear power plant (“Can we as a state afford such a tariff?”) and for opposing proposals to dissolve the fund. In February 2026, President Tokayev criticised the fund and national companies for having too many managers, after which Samruk-Kazyna cut about 650 administrative jobs.
The detentions are among the most high-profile in years. Samruk-Kazyna manages assets that account for a large share of Kazakhstan’s GDP, including oil, gas, uranium, rail, energy and telecoms. KTZ is central to the Trans-Caspian route. The case is likely to be watched closely by foreign investors and partners of both companies.
CentralasianLIGHT.org,
November 12, 2026