Legislation - The Times Of Central Asia

Viewing results 1 - 6 of 121

Legislation

Foreign Political Parties Banned in Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan has added to the law "On Political Parties," prohibiting the establishment and operation of foreign political parties and their subdivisions in Uzbekistan. The corresponding amendments were signed by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Kun.uz reports. Furthermore, the amendments broadened the conditions under which the powers of a deputy of the lower house and a senator could be terminated early. Elected representatives are prohibited from engaging in other paid activities (except for scientific, creative, and pedagogical work) and holding their positions if they have a permanent residence permit abroad. Additionally, parliamentarians will lose their mandate if they fail to participate for 30 days without a valid reason in the activities of their respective chamber, political party faction, committee, or commission. Similar measures are envisaged for deputies of regional, district, and city councils of people's deputies (local parliament). Five political parties are registered in Uzbekistan: the Liberal Democratic Party, the Milliy Tiklanish (National Revival) Democratic Party, the Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party, the People's Democratic Party, and the Ecological Party.

Women-owned Enterprises Women entrepreneurs Legislation Economy Culture

Kyrgyzstan to Support Female Entrepreneurship

A group of Kyrgyz parliamentary deputies have initiated amendments to the draft law "On the Protection of Entrepreneurs' Rights," which will bow be supplemented with the words "women's entrepreneurship." The amendment states that women make up half of Kyrgyzstan's population, but their contribution to the economy is far less significant. Citing IMF data, the authors of the amendment stated that female entrepreneurship can contribute up to 27% to the republic's GDP. "As experience shows, the level of income from small businesses does not exceed the officially established subsistence minimum, which, unfortunately, does not leave additional funds available for further business development. The data also shows that women entrepreneurs who have better access to assets and can make independent decisions can help reduce poverty," the bill states. Representatives of the women's forum "Kurak," who contributed to drafting the amendments, proposed introducing the term "woman entrepreneur" into the law and defining this as a legal entity wherein a woman owns at least 51% of the shares. They believe this will enable women to receive preferential financing and access state support. "Women entrepreneurs often need more time to run a business. After all, they often raise children and run a household in parallel. It is also tough for a woman to get a loan from a bank because the collateral property belongs to men. Moral support from our patriarchal society and the state is also lacking," human rights activist Ainura Sarynbayeva told The Times of Central Asia. The legislative introduction of the word "woman" and "women's entrepreneurship" will help further develop women's businesses, believes Sarynbayeva, adding that commercial banks and international development institutions are already prepared to provide preferential lending. "Today, there are no countries in Central Asia where the concept of "women's entrepreneurship" is enshrined in the law. The draft law being promoted in Kyrgyzstan is largely similar to the Azerbaijani law. The authorities there support women businessmen at the state level," said Sarynbayeva. According to the latest census, Kyrgyzstan is home to 3.3 million women - half of the country's population. However, despite various training sessions and courses, only a small percentage of Kyrgyz women participate in economic activities. Human rights activists attribute this state of affairs to the haphazard nature of government support. The average Kyrgyz businesswoman is 40-50 years old, has a secondary education, is an individual entrepreneur or manages a small or medium-sized business, and has a family and children.

Legislation Media Freedom

Mixed Results for Kazakhstan in Media Freedom Rankings

Analysts at Ranking.kz have provided an overview of press freedom in Kazakhstan and alleged violations against journalists. According to the International Foundation for the Protection of Freedom of Expression, Әdil sөz, there was a 20.1% decrease in incidents of violations against correspondents last year, with 434 incidents in 2023 and 141 from January to May this year. Additionally, reports of pre-trial claims or lawsuits against individual journalists or editorial offices declined by 5% in 2023. Despite this, seven court decisions led to various sentences for journalists at the end of 2023. The most common violation was obstruction of legitimate professional activities, with 51 cases, including six violent ones, primarily involving police and state employees. Threats to journalists and editorial offices were also significant, with 44 incidents reported. Nonviolent attempts to coerce journalists were noted to have decreased slightly. However, despite fewer reported violations, according to Reporters Without Borders, censorship issues have worsened. Kazakhstan's press freedom ranking fell from 134th to 142nd in 2024, with a score of 41.11 out of 100. In contrast, Kyrgyzstan ranks highest in Central Asia at 120th, while Turkmenistan remains one of the worst globally in 175th place.

Banking Security Economy Judiciary Legislation Oligarchs Khrapunov BTA Ablyazov

Fugitive Oligarchs Ablyazov and Khrapunov Ordered to Return $32 Million to Kazakhstan by U.S. Court

Kazakhstan has secured a victory in the United States against Felix Sater and his companies, which were involved in investing money stolen by Mukhtar Ablyazov from BTA Bank. The jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York awarded over $32 million in favor of BTA and the city of Almaty. In addition, the Kazakh oligarch and former Mayor of Almaty and Minister of Emergency Situations, Viktor Khrapunov, was reported by BTA's press service to have caused multi-billion-dollar damages through his actions. After a three-week trial, the jury recognized BTA Bank and the city of Almaty as victims of Sater's unlawful activities, which included the misappropriation of property, unjust enrichment, and obtaining money fraudulently. The compensation awarded exceeded the requested amount, totaling more than $32 million including interest. The trial, which began on June 10, 2024, demonstrated that Mukhtar Ablyazov abused his position at BTA Bank by issuing fictitious loans worth billions of dollars, leading to the bank’s collapse. At the time, BTA was the third-largest bank in Kazakhstan. Ablyazov also privatized state land and sold it at undervalued prices to companies he controlled. In addition, the Khrapunov's fraudulent actions, meanwhile, caused over $300 million in damages to Almaty, leaving significant urban land undeveloped, whilst other assets were sold to the Khrapunovs shell companies for significantly less than their market value through fictitious tenders. Evidence presented in court showed that Ablyazov and Khrapunov combined their stolen funds, with Ilyas Khrapunov, Viktor’s son and Ablyazov’s son-in-law, accused of laundering a substantial part of these funds. In September 2018, a UK court fined Ilyas Khrapunov $500 million for helping Ablyazov breach an asset freezing order. The Bayrock Group, Inc., Global Habitat Solutions (both owned by Sater), and MeM Energy Partners LLC (owned by Mendel Mochkin) were found to have facilitated the laundering of the stolen money into the U.S. financial system. The jury determined that Sater and Mochkin knowingly laundered the funds stolen by Ablyazov and Khrapunov. Additionally, the jury, having been presented with comprehensive evidence of Ablyazov's fraud against BTA Bank, returned a unanimous verdict against his co-conspirators. For the first time, a U.S. jury also unanimously ruled in favor of the city of Almaty concerning fraud committed by Viktor Khrapunov. Sater was not the only defendant in the asset laundering case. Daniel Ridloff and RRMI-DR LLC were also ordered to return assets to BTA and the Almaty Akimat. Ferrari Holdings LLC, another defendant, is in default, but Almaty Akimat and the bank plan to seek a judgment against it. In Kazakhstan, in 2018 Mukhtar Ablyazov was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment for organizing a murder and embezzling funds from depositors of BTA Bank. In the same year, Viktor Khrapunov and his wife, Leila Khrapunova, were also sentenced in absentia to 17 and 14 years in prison, respectively. Back in December 2022, the Southern District Court in New York ruled against Ablyazov and his associates in the amount of $218 million. In total, Ablyazov stands accused of...

Arkadag International Relations Politics Legislation

Inside Turkmenistan: What Self-Isolation Reveals About the Nation

Getting into Turkmenistan has always been a complex undertaking. For most foreigners, the only option available is to apply through an accredited Turkmen travel firm, meaning a 'guide' will trail ones every move. Alternately, there is a five day transit visa, though these are denied more often than they are issued. Arguably the second most insular state in the world after North Korea, it is fair to say that Turkmenistan really isn't in the market for tourists. Frozen in time The first leader of independent Turkmenistan was Saparmurat Niyazov, who climbed up the ladder in the Soviet nomenklatura (administration) and held such positions as First Secretary of the Ashgabat City Committee of the Communist Party of the Turkmen SSR; Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Turkmen SSR (i.e., Prime Minister); and First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Turkmen SSR before the collapse of the Soviet Union. From First Secretary, he became President of Turkmenistan for life, as formalized legislatively in 1999. In the second half of 1993, the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan (formerly the Communist Party of the Turkmen SSR) proposed the extension of Niyazov's powers until 2002 - a second term without re-election - and in January 1994, 99.9% of voters purportedly supported this in a nationwide referendum. From 1994 to 1995, Turkmenistan considered renaming the president's office "Shah" and declaring the republic a Shahdom. However, the idea did not find favor with the elders. Niyazov's strained relationship with his son was also taken into account, and the idea was buried. Declaring himself "Turkmenbashi" (father of the Turkmen people," Niyazov began to rain down a cavalcade of decrees including bans on lip-syncing, car radios, cinema, clowns and the playing of recorded music at weddings. Long hair on men and beards were outlawed, citizens with gold teeth ordered to have them extracted. "I watched young dogs when I was young," Niyazov stated. "They were given bones to gnaw to strengthen their teeth. Those of you whose teeth have fallen out did not chew on bones. This is my advice." All hospitals outside of Ashgabat were shut and the funds were instead spent on a $20 million new leisure center for horses. Compulsory education was cut by a year so students could no longer qualify to study abroad. The opera house and ballet boarded up, in place of culture came such fanciful projects as the $50 million dollar Turkmenbashi’s World of Fairytales theme park and the world’s largest shoe. Six meters long and one and a half meters tall, it was manufactured to symbolize the "great strides" Turkmenistan had made under Niyazov’s leadership. Numerous editions of Niyazov's, Ruhnama, (book of the soul) - his version of Mao’s Little Red Book - were released. A heady cocktail of pseudo-spiritual cogitations and revisionist history, the book claimed the Turkmen people to be the inventors of the wheel and heirs to Earth’s oldest civilisation. Within a year, most bookstores carried nothing but the Ruhnama, and novelists...

Kuandyk Bishimbayev Saltanat Nukenova Bishimbayev Murder Trial Legislation

Kuandyk Bishimbayev Murder Sentence Appeal Rejected

On June 26 an appeal court in Kazakhstan's capital Astana upheld the 24-year prison sentence for murder handed down to the country's former minister of national economy, Kuandyk Bishimbayev. On 13 May Bishimbayev, a minister in the government of Kazakhstan's first president Nursultan Nazarbayev, was found guilty of killing his common-law wife, Saltanat Nukenova, at a restaurant in Astana late last year. The appeal court ruling states: "The judicial board decides that the verdict of the Specialized Interdistrict Court on criminal cases of Astana from May 13, 2024, in respect of Kuandyk Bishimbayev, made with the participation of jurors, should be left unchanged." The owner of the restaurant where Nukenova was murdered, Bakhytzhan Baizhanov, was found guilty of harboring a particularly serious crime. Baizhanov was sentenced to four years in prison in a medium security penal institution. His sentence has also been upheld. During the trial, as public outrage over Nukenova’s killing simmered in Kazakhstan, president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a new law in April in line with OECD standards which tightens the penalties for domestic violence and provides more help for survivors. The legislation became widely-dubbed, “Saltanat’s Law.” Bishimbayev's lawyer, Nazken Kusainova, has commented that Bishimbayev intends to make further appeals to the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan and the Human Rights Committee.