Just one day after an investigation by Radio Azattyq and OCCRP, the grandnephew of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced on Saturday that he is donating the Kazakh National University of Sports (KNUS) to the state.
Framing the handover as a patriotic gesture, Nurassyl Medeu stated the move was not a sale, a transfer into trust management, or a forced step, “but a gratuitous gift to my native country so that it prospers, reaches unprecedented heights, and achieves recognition at the global level.”
“Everything we created must serve our youth, our people, and our country,” he said, adding that it was a great honor to make the contribution. “If you compare KNUS to a ship, I built it to be powerful, reliable, and unbreakable.”
The unexpected announcement of Medeu followed a Friday investigation revealing Medeu to be the grandson of President Tokayev’s sister, Karlyga Izbastina, and detailing how two major educational ventures he founded received substantial state support.
According to the investigation, after President Tokayev has launched an ambitious initiative to establish a “special status” AI research university as a part of his push to transform the nation into a digital state, his 23 years old grand-nephew Nurassyl founded the university “Qazaq AI Research” (QAIRU).
Soon after, the state-owned company QazExpoCongress acquired minority shares in the venture (the company later confirmed to reporters it owns 5 percent stake). At the same time, the institution relocated to a striking, eight-story spherical building in the Kazakh capital, Astana, originally built as the centerpiece of EXPO 2017.
Meanwhile, the for-profit sports academy Medeu founded when he was 18 rebranded last year to KNUS and moved into a $250 million state owned facility. The government also acquired a minority stake in this firm.
Medeu did not respond to requests of either Radio Azattyq or OCCRP prior to publication. However, in a previous interview with state-run Qazsport TV, he sought to quell rumors that his family ties afforded him “special privileges.”
“I do not know where such assertions come from,” he said. “If you wish, you can also open a university and obtain a license. There is nothing extraordinary about it.”
In another interview, with EU Reporter, Medeu defended KNUS’ operations on a state-owned campus, saying the agreement “explicitly prohobit[s] privatization, disposition, or any transfer of the property into private ownership.”
In none of his prior interviews did Medeu mention any intention of gifting the university to the state, and in his Saturday speech, he made no reference to the investigation published a day earlier.
Furthermore, the university’s strategic development plan through 2030, approved last year, contained no provision to transfer full ownership to the state, proposing instead a transfer of only 5 percent. In August of that same year, a state-owned company acquired that exact 5 percent stake, according to publicly available documents.
Medeu also announced the handover on Instagram with a farewell post: “For me, this is not just a goodbye to an important chapter of my life. It is the beginning of a new story for a university that will forever remain close to my heart.”
He did not announce any plans regarding the “Qazaq AI Research University.”
Source: OCCRP · 2026-10-19