Kazakhstan’s anti-corruption service on Wednesday detained the heads of the country’s sovereign wealth fund and national railway operator on suspicion of a corruption offense.
The detained officials are Nurlan Zhakupov, head of the Samruk-Kazyna Sovereign Fund—which holds about $87.5 billion in assets—and Yelzhas Otynshiyev, head of the national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), the country’s National Security Committee said in a statement Thursday. KTZ is a subsidiary of the fund and operates the country’s main rail network.
Alongside other officials, whom the committee did not name, Zhakupov and Otynshiyev are “suspected of committing a corruption-related offense,” the committee said, adding that “investigative actions are currently underway to establish all the circumstances of the case.”
Footage published on the X account of the national broadcaster Qazaqstan, showed Zhakupov, wearing a blue shirt, surrounded by several people in a doorway.
A representative of Samruk-Kazyna, told the local media outlet Tengrinews that the fund is fully cooperating with law enforcement.
“The Fund provides comprehensive assistance to law enforcement agencies, ensuring the necessary interaction and provision of requested information and materials within the framework of the current legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan,” the statement said.
Samruk-Kazyna holds state stakes in some of Kazakhstan’s largest businesses. Its portfolio includes national oil and gas company KazMunayGas, uranium producer Kazatomprom, telecommunications operator Kazakhtelecom and national electricity grid operator KEGOC. The fund’s consolidated assets include KTZ, the railway company.
The fund and the companies within its group continue to operate as usual, Samrak-Kazyna JSC said in a statement.
“All commitments to investors, creditors, international financial institutions and business partners remain in full force and are being honored in accordance with the terms of existing agreements”, the statement read.
KTZ runs freight and passenger services. Its network carries domestic traffic and cargo between China and Europe, including along the Trans-Caspian route. The company reported that 319.9 million metric tons of freight moved over its network in 2025. It had 7.6 trillion tenge, or about $15 billion, in consolidated assets at year-end. In May, the fund and KTZ announced plans to launch an initial public offering with a proposed triple listing in London, Hong Kong and Kazakhstan.
Shortly before the announcement, social media videos in the capital showed what appeared to be U.S. dollar bills scattered on the ground in the country’s capital, Astana, though the committee did not link the footage to the investigation.
Samruk-Kazyna’s press office did not answer calls from OCCRP reporters. KTZ declined to comment on the detentions.
Source: OCCRP · 2026-11-12