According to The Guardian, Yerbol Orynbaev, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan and ex-head of Jusan, has filed a lawsuit against the company's directors, including Lord Evans. He claims that they "personally enriched themselves" from the sale of Jusan fund assets valued at approximately 1 billion dollars. Orynbaev states that these assets were sold for only 75 million dollars, which is a "negligible fraction" of their actual value. Exclusive.kz also noted this.
Essence of the lawsuit
According to Orynbaev, Jusan Technologies Ltd. managed assets whose profits were supposed to go to educational projects in Kazakhstan. He emphasizes that this structure must be protected from "corruption and political interference."
Responses from the defendants
Representatives of Jusan Technologies Ltd. categorically rejected the accusations, calling them "groundless." In their official statement, they noted that Orynbaev is "dissatisfied that he was unable to sell his shares at a profit" and criticizes the deals he himself supported at the time they were made.
Lord Evans claims that the payments were legal and that the deal was a necessary measure due to attempts by the Kazakh authorities to seize Jusan's assets in 2022.
Court's position
The judge in the UK considering the case noted that Orynbaev's arguments appear "partially one-sided," but he acknowledged that the legality of the directors' rewards still needs to be determined, and the details of the deal require further analysis.
Previous scandals
It is worth noting that Lord Evans has already been suspended from the House of Lords for five months for breaching lobbying rules following an investigation by The Guardian. As a result, he became a subject of two lawsuits — both in the UK and the US.
Since 2022, Jusan Technologies Ltd. has managed assets related to charitable foundations in the field of education in Kazakhstan. Documents indicate that the management was appointed to "establish relations with the government of Kazakhstan."
Connection to Nazarbayev's affairs
This case is also linked to previous investigations concerning former President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and The Daily Telegraph reported that Nazarbayev used the UK to manage assets worth 7.8 billion dollars both in Kazakhstan and abroad. Yerbol Orynbaev, who initiated this lawsuit, previously served as an assistant to Nazarbayev, was a director of Jusan Technologies, and owned a stake in the company (4.6%).
