Kazakhstan owes over $300 million to Seychelles

Kazakhstan owes over $300 million to Seychelles, Tengrinews.kz reports citing Majilis deputy Nurtai Sabilyanov. “The most interesting is that Kazakhstan owes so much to these islands. What are these debts? I understand this must be the debts to some companies. For example, we owe Bermudas huge money. Kazakhstan owes $32 million to Grimsey island. There are Cayman Islands and Seychelles; Kazakhstan owes them over $300 million. I suppose that Kazakhstan should not have any debts to these islands,” said the outraged member of the lower chamber of the Parliament. “Funds borrowed abroad are usually borrowed from some financial institutes. Part of these institutes may be registered in offshore zones, including the islands,” Kazakhstan Finance Minister Bolat Zhamishev replied. “Our key priority is to create conditions for economic entities and everyone working in our country to stop exporting profits and minimizing taxes through interaction with offshore companies. This problem with offshore companies is challenging for us. But Kazakhstan's economy doesn't have the problem with who borrows from whom and who owes to whom and whether one is registered in an offshore zone or not,” Zhamishev explained. According to the Minister, Kazakhstan’s external debt stands at around $124 billion. By Renat Tashkinbayev