Mayur MohtaWitnesses saw cases of cash that looked like dollars tossed from an Astana window on a day of major arrests.
Cash cases land outside an Astana complex
Eyewitnesses say someone threw suitcases with dollars from a window of the Atlant residential complex in Astana. The banknotes looked like US dollars. It happened on the same day officials detained the heads of Kazakhstan’s national wealth fund and national railway company.
What a report said about the incident
A report on the incident carried this statement:
“In Astana, suitcases with banknotes similar to dollars were thrown out of a window amid media reports of detentions of top managers.”
What local media saw at the scene
Local media reported about eight suitcases with dollars on the ramp, each filled with 100 dollar notes. Atlant is a business class residential complex in the Yesil district of Astana. The exact amount has not been established. The authenticity of the banknotes is also unknown.
Who was detained
On Thursday, the national security committee announced two detentions in a corruption case. It named Nurlan Zhakupov, who chairs the board of the Samruk Kazyna national wealth fund. It also named Yelzhas Otynshiev, who heads the national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, or KTZ. Both men face suspicion of corruption. Some Telegram channels and media outlets link the suitcases with dollars to the operation against both men.
Aditya Didwaniya
Pratik Agrawal
Akshay Didwaniya
