Kazakhstan’s national security authorities have confirmed the detention of the then heads of the country’s sovereign wealth fund and national railway company on suspicion of a corruption-related offence.
Nurlan Zhakupov, then chairman of Samruk-Kazyna’s management board, and Yelzhas Otynshiyev, then chairman of the management board of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), were detained on 11 November alongside other individuals, the National Security Committee said. The committee confirmed the detentions on 12 November.
The committee said its anti-corruption service was conducting investigative work to establish the circumstances. It did not specify the alleged conduct, identify the other individuals or explain what role each detainee was suspected of playing. It did not say whether the suspicions were connected to either organisation’s activities.
The committee cited a provision of Kazakhstan’s criminal procedure code restricting the disclosure of information from a pre-trial investigation. As of 12 November, authorities had not announced formal charges against the two executives or disclosed the nature of the alleged offence. A detention on suspicion is not a finding of guilt.
Two major state-linked organisations
Samruk-Kazyna manages a portfolio of major Kazakh state assets. Its holdings include businesses in oil and gas, energy, transport and telecommunications, including the national oil and gas company KazMunayGas and uranium producer Kazatomprom. The fund owns all of KTZ.
The railway company operates Kazakhstan’s main rail network and carries both passengers and freight. Its services connect regions within the country as well as providing links to neighbouring states. KTZ also provides cross-border and transit freight services in the region.
Otynshiyev became chairman of the railway company’s management board on 20 July 2026. Before taking that role, he held a senior position at the fund covering strategy and asset management.
Transit traffic on KTZ’s network reached 33 million tonnes in 2025, compared with 27.5 million tonnes in 2024. A total of 13.269 million rail passengers were carried in 2025, including passengers on trains operated by other railway administrations. These figures describe the scale of the railway’s activities; they do not establish any connection between those activities and the investigation.
Fund says operations continue
In a statement dated 12 November, Samruk-Kazyna said it and the companies in its group continued to operate as usual. The fund said commitments to investors, creditors, international financial institutions and business partners remained in force and were being honoured.
It also said its investment projects and strategic programmes were continuing in line with approved plans. The statement did not provide details of the investigation.
The fund’s portfolio gives it a role in sectors that serve both Kazakhstan’s domestic economy and international trade. KTZ’s network forms part of routes used to move goods across Central Asia, including the Trans-Caspian route connecting Kazakhstan with Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Railway share sale remains a plan
Before the detentions, Samruk-Kazyna and KTZ had been preparing a proposed initial public offering of railway company securities. In May, the organisations set an objective of a listing in 2026 on exchanges in London, Hong Kong and Kazakhstan.
They proposed issuing new equity rather than selling existing shares held by the fund. Under that proposal, money raised would be retained by KTZ, with expected uses including repayment of part of its debt and investment in railway infrastructure and rolling stock.
Market conditions, the company’s readiness and investor interest could affect the timing and structure of the offering. It remained a proposal before the detentions; the security committee did not say that the investigation concerned the offering.
The fund’s 12 November statement addressed the continuity of the group’s activities but did not announce a decision about the proposed share sale. The security committee’s account leaves the substance of the allegations to the continuing investigation.
