Tokayev: Kazakhstan's anti-corruption drive will have no 'insiders' or 'outsiders'

Following the detention of executives at Samruk-Kazyna JSC and Kazakhstan Temir Zholy National Company JSC, President Qasym-Jomart Tokayev said reports of corruption at all levels must be thoroughly investigated, infohub.kz reports.

The head of state made the anti-corruption statement at an operational meeting of the Security Council. It was prompted by the detentions of executives at Samruk-Kazyna JSC and Kazakhstan Temir Zholy National Company JSC.

The president cited statistics on corruption offenses over the past three years.

"Over the past three years alone, between 2023 and 2025, 3,168 corruption offenses were identified, of which 2,165 were committed by civil servants and the rest by other persons, including employees of the so-called quasi-public sector. The total amount exceeds 248 billion tenge.

In the first 10 months of this year alone, 751 corruption offenses were committed, of which 546 were by civil servants and 205 by other persons, including quasi-public sector employees.

As this statistics show, the corruption situation remains difficult, but we are not going to hide anything from the public or bury our heads in the sand like an ostrich. We speak openly both about the state of affairs in this area and about the measures taken or being taken to curb corruption," the president said.

According to Tokayev, all reports of corruption offenses by officials at various levels will be promptly and thoroughly investigated by the National Security Committee's Anti-Corruption Service together with the Prosecutor General's Office.

"There will, of course, be no division into 'insiders,' 'not quite insiders' and, even less so, 'outsiders.' Our Constitution enshrines the principle of equality of all citizens before the law. We must fulfill this requirement," Tokayev stressed.

Earlier, President Qasym-Jomart Tokayev commented at a Security Council meeting on the detention of executives at Samruk-Kazyna and KTZ. In addition, the head of state instructed the government and regulatory bodies to submit concrete proposals for sharply reducing corruption offenses.