Tokayev suggests investing recovered assets from abroad in new production facilities

ASTANA. April 19 (Interfax) - President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev suggested investing stolen assets that have been returned to the state into new production projects.

"The efforts to return illegally exported assets back to the state have been stepped up. All those funds should be directed to benefit the economy," Tokayev said on Wednesday at an expanded government meeting on the socio-economic development of the country.

This is what I want to say to citizens who want to return funds and contribute to the prosperity of our country: invest in new industrial projects, open new production facilities and create new jobs in Kazakhstan. Then there will be no problems with assets of this type and their owners," the president said.

As previously reported, the return of capital from abroad and the creation of barriers to the outflow of funds offshore are among the key points of the new economic policy, which Tokayev announced at the beginning of 2022. According to the Economy Ministry, the value of all funds illegally withdrawn from Kazakhstan since the country achieved independence is estimated at about $100 billion.

During the government meeting, the President also instructed that an employee of the prosecutor's office be assigned to each major investment project in the country.

"I consider it necessary to assign support from the prosecutor's office to each significant investment project. This will allow for the establishment of a system of collective responsibility and free civil servants from the fear of making the wrong decision," Tokayev said.

This measure should increase the efficiency of our efforts to attract investment and serve as a guarantee of investment security for foreign entrepreneurs, he said.

"I believe that all this will help improve the investment climate in our country," the president said, adding that Kazakhstani businessmen should stop investing money earned at home abroad.

"Representatives of large businesses supported by the state play a special role. It is necessary to get rid of the habit of "earning here and spending abroad." On the contrary, it is better to strive to make a greater contribution to solving the social problems in our own country," Tokayev said.

The country, he said, needs "a new wave of entrepreneurs" who can create stable and strong businesses without relying on state resources.