Astana, 12 November. After the detention of board chairman Nurlan Zhakupov the Samruk-Kazyna fund twice stated that it is giving law enforcement full cooperation and operating as normal, and that all of its obligations to investors, creditors and partners remain in force, the fund’s press service said.
The fund first replied to a request from Ulysmedia.kz at about three in the afternoon (Ulysmedia): the authorised bodies are carrying out investigative actions, and the fund is giving law enforcement full cooperation and providing the information and materials requested, within the law. In the morning, at 11:20, the press service neither confirmed nor denied the information about the detention, and at 11:52 the KNB published a release on it.
The evening statement, posted on the fund’s website, is broader: Samruk-Kazyna and the group’s companies continue operating as normal, all obligations to investors, creditors, international financial institutions and business partners remain in force and are fulfilled under the existing agreements, and investment projects and strategic programmes continue according to approved plans. The fund, the statement says, retains financial and institutional stability and remains a reliable partner of Kazakh and international investors, and it confirms that its obligations are unchanged and its commitment to long-term cooperation with all partners.
A separate market question is the share offering of KTZ. It was planned for 2026 on three venues: AIX, LSE and HKEX. Daniyar Temirbayev, executive director of the QAMS association, believes that the detentions may delay the IPO indefinitely; this is an expert’s opinion, not a decision by the company or the fund. The published texts of the statements do not say who is temporarily performing the duties of chairman of the fund and of KTZ.
Earlier we also wrote about how the KNB announced the detention of the heads of Samruk-Kazyna and KTZ.
What it means: The fund answers a question that matters to creditors and partners: payments and projects continue. The statements say nothing about the reasons for the detention or about who runs the fund now.
What we know now: Known: the fund has stated that it is cooperating with the investigation, that the group is operating as normal and that obligations are being met under existing agreements. Unknown: who is temporarily heading the fund and KTZ, what KTZ will say, whether the KTZ IPO will be postponed, and what exactly the detainees are suspected of: the KNB does not disclose details.
Background: The KNB announced the detention of Nurlan Zhakupov and Yeljas Otynshiyev on 12 November at 11:52; according to the release, the detention took place on 11 November.
