Tokayev Demands Anti-Corruption Plans for State Companies by November 24

On November 13, at an operational meeting of the Security Council, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev demanded that the government and supervisory bodies present concrete proposals for reducing corruption in state companies by November 24.

The trigger was the detention of senior officials of the National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna and the national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ). Tokayev described these detentions as an 'extremely serious signal' pointing to widespread corruption in state companies.

The President stated that 'the Constitution is the Fundamental Law of our state' and called it the legal passport of the people. According to him, disregard for the Constitution and its fundamental provisions is tantamount to discrimination against the people. Tokayev stressed that such actions will be curbed in accordance with the principle of legality and the rule of law, and no one is permitted to violate the Constitution.

Tokayev stressed that the detentions will not affect the operational activity of Samruk-Kazyna or KTZ: all enterprises continue to operate as usual. According to him, the fight against corruption should, on the contrary, increase investors' and creditors' confidence in the fund.

The President reported that the Prosecutor General's Office has secured the return of illegally acquired assets worth more than 1.3 trillion tenge (about $2.9 billion). The funds have been directed to the construction of 466 social and infrastructure facilities, of which 383 have already been completed.

According to figures cited by Tokayev, 3,168 corruption offenses were identified in 2023-2024, of which 2,165 were committed by civil servants; the total sum exceeded 248 billion tenge (about $550 million). In the first ten months of 2025, a further 751 corruption offenses were recorded, including 546 by civil servants and 205 by employees of the quasi-state sector.