Kazakhstan Arrests KGB Chief on Charges of Treason

Former President Nazarbayev Allegedly Fled Abroad
President Tokayev Discusses Response Measures with President Putin

[Asia Economy International Desk Reporter] The head of Kazakhstan's National Security Committee (KGB) was arrested on charges of treason amid large-scale anti-government protests triggered by soaring fuel prices that have continued for a week.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to TASS and other sources on the 8th (local time), the press office of Kazakhstan's KGB announced, "On the 6th, through an internal investigation into charges of treason, Karim Maksimov, chairman of the KGB, and other officials were arrested and detained in custody." Kazakhstan's KGB is the intelligence agency succeeding the former Soviet KGB.

Former Chairman Maksimov served twice as prime minister under former President Nursultan Nazarbayev from 2007 to 2012 and from 2014 to 2016. Between 2012 and 2014, he was the chief of the presidential administration (secretary), and since 2016, he had been serving as the KGB chairman. He was dismissed following the outbreak of large-scale violent incidents in Kazakhstan.

Samatt Abish, the first deputy chairman of the KGB who was dismissed alongside Maksimov, was reportedly arrested in Almaty on the 7th. Abish is also a nephew of former President Nazarbayev.

Regarding the sudden arrest of the intelligence agency's leadership, local analysts suggested that these close associates of former President Nazarbayev might have orchestrated the current protest situation to overthrow President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's administration.

Yermukhamet Yertysbayev, a former advisor to Nazarbayev, claimed in an interview with the state-run 'Khabar24' TV broadcast the previous day that the planners of the Almaty unrest attempted to oust President Tokayev, and that high-ranking government officials, including the security agency leadership, might have been involved. As evidence, he pointed out that the KGB concealed information about extremist group training camps located in mountainous areas and that during the attack on Almaty airport by rioters on the 5th, the KGB ordered the airport security to be lifted 40 minutes before the attack, thereby assisting the rioters.

Additionally, reports emerged that former President Nazarbayev had already fled abroad with his three daughters. Local media outlet Orda reported on the 7th that Nazarbayev had left Kazakhstan, followed shortly by his daughters, while among the family, his brother Bolatman remained in Kazakhstan. Although Nazarbayev voluntarily resigned from the presidency in 2019, he maintained his position as chairman of the National Security Council, continuing to exert political influence.

However, a spokesperson for former President Nazarbayev denied the overseas escape rumors, stating that he was staying in the capital Nur-Sultan, maintaining contact with President Tokayev, and had held several phone calls with foreign leaders. Furthermore, the Kazakhstan KGB press office stated that First Deputy Chairman Abish still holds his position.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who dispatched airborne troops to Kazakhstan to assist in resolving the protest situation, held a phone call with Kazakhstan President Tokayev to discuss response measures.

The Kremlin reported that President Tokayev provided a detailed explanation of the protest situation to President Putin and conveyed that the situation was stabilizing. Tokayev also proposed holding a video conference soon with the heads of member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a security alliance of former Soviet countries, to discuss the response to the Kazakhstan protests. President Putin supported this proposal, the Kremlin added. The CSTO has deployed 2,500 peacekeeping troops, mainly Russian airborne forces, to Kazakhstan.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.