Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry. Photo by Vladimir Dmitriyev©
The recent deportation of the wife of former head of BTA Bank Mukhtar Ablyazov from Italy to Kazakhstan will not spoil the relations between Kazakhstan and Italy, Tengrinews.kz reports citing Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry’s statement published on the website of the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera. “The relations between two two countries have been tested by time. We have the relations that are over 20 years old. We have active and successful connections in all areas ranging from economic to political ones,” the Ministry writes. “Kazakhstan does not believe that deportation of one of its citizens who violated passport and visa regimes (or revoking of the deportation order) is a good reason to shaken the bilateral relations.” After deportation of Ablyazov’s wife Alma Shalabayeva and their daughter to Kazakhstan, two Italian parties expressed outrage to Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano and the Ministry’s Chief of Staff Giuseppe Procaccini resigned. Some of the media outlets reported that Italy was thinking about expelling Kazakhstan Ambassador to Rome Andrian Yelemessov over the incident. On May 31 Alma Shalabayeva and her daughter Alua were deported by the Italian authorities for illegal stay in Italy with fake Central African passports and one and half months later the Italian authorities suddenly decided to reverse their deportation order. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan authorities noted that Shalabayeva could go back to Italy. In February 2012 London’s High Court sentenced Ablyazov to 22 months in jail for contempt of court for lying about his assets and violating the court's freezing order issued in 2009. Ablyazov is now wanted by the law-enforcement authorities but his whereabouts are unclear. In November 2012 the London court ruled out to freeze his assets. It was reported later that Ablyazov fled to France, while the Italian authorities put him on the wanted in the beginning of July.
The recent deportation of the wife of former head of BTA Bank Mukhtar Ablyazov from Italy to Kazakhstan will not spoil the relations between Kazakhstan and Italy, Tengrinews.kz reports citing Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry’s statement published on the website of the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera.
“The relations between two two countries have been tested by time. We have the relations that are over 20 years old. We have active and successful connections in all areas ranging from economic to political ones,” the Ministry writes. “Kazakhstan does not believe that deportation of one of its citizens who violated passport and visa regimes (or revoking of the deportation order) is a good reason to shaken the bilateral relations.”
After deportation of Ablyazov’s wife Alma Shalabayeva and their daughter to Kazakhstan, two Italian parties expressed outrage to Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano and the Ministry’s Chief of Staff Giuseppe Procaccini resigned. Some of the media outlets reported that Italy was thinking about expelling Kazakhstan Ambassador to Rome Andrian Yelemessov over the incident.
On May 31 Alma Shalabayeva and her daughter Alua were deported by the Italian authorities for illegal stay in Italy with fake Central African passports and one and half months later the Italian authorities suddenly decided to reverse their deportation order. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan authorities noted that Shalabayeva could go back to Italy.
In February 2012 London’s High Court sentenced Ablyazov to 22 months in jail for contempt of court for lying about his assets and violating the court's freezing order issued in 2009. Ablyazov is now wanted by the law-enforcement authorities but his whereabouts are unclear. In November 2012 the London court ruled out to freeze his assets. It was reported later that Ablyazov fled to France, while the Italian authorities put him on the wanted in the beginning of July.