Oil trafficking funds Kazakhstan's religious extremists

Religious extremists in Kazakhstan are feeding of oil trafficking, Tengrinews.kz reports citing head of the Department for Investigation of Economic and Financial Crimes of Kazakhstan Agency for Countering Economic and Financial Crime (financial police) Zhanat Elimanov as saying. “The illegal export of oil and oil products fuels the country’s shadow economy and provides funding to organized criminal groups, including radical religious movements,” Elimanov said at the meeting of the Agency’s public council on countering corruption and shadow economy. According to him, the oil trafficking also creates taxes shortfalls and undermines environmental security. According to the Ministry of Oil and Gas, the shadow trafficking of oil ranges within 200-300 thousand tons per year. Elimanov pointed out that the number of cases of oil trafficking has been growing dramatically: “60 crimes related to illegal export of oil and oil products were registered in 2012, where as there were only 30 criminal cases initiated (in relation of oil trafficking) in 2011. The total amount of damage (in 2012) was over 12 billion tenge ($80 million). Over 3 thousand tons of oil were seized. 86 crimes of this category have been registered since the beginning of this year,” the official said. Speaking about known schemes of oil theft and its legalization the officer of the financial police named theft from temporary oil storage, from abandoned wells at oil fields or from oil pipelines with subsequent legalization by oil terminals and production bases, sales of illegal oil under fake documents or transportation of the oil under the guise of oil products. By Renat Tashkinbayev