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PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW
RUEHLA RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK
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DE RUEHTA #2119/01 2981256
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 241256Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY ASTANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3656
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE 0728
RUCNCLS/SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0128
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0838
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 2012
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1961
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 2297
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFAAA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC 0284
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC 0206
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEANQT/FINCEN VIENNA VA
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 002119 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INL/AAE, SCA/CEN, SCA/RA 
 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR EFIN SNAR KCRM KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN:  CHIEF OF FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE UNIT LAYS OUT 
HIS VISION FOR COOPERATION 
 
¶1.  (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2.  (U) SUMMARY:  On October 1, the Minister of Finance appointed 
Mussiraly Utebayev to head the Committee on Financial Monitoring, 
which is Kazakhstan's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). 
Representatives of the Embassy's Office of International Narcotics 
and Law Enforcement (INL) met with him briefly during an anti-money 
laundering coordination meeting on October 8 and had a longer 
meeting with him on October 15 to discuss the needs of his committee 
and future cooperation with the United States.  END SUMMARY. 
 
HITTING THE GROUND RUNNING 
 
¶3.  (SBU) One of Utebayev's first multilateral meetings was with the 
anti-money laundering coordination group chaired by the World Bank. 
During that meeting, Utebayev laid out his goals and stated that he 
was beginning to staff his office and working with the Parliament to 
get anti-money laundering legislation passed.  He assured the group 
that he was not going to wait for passage before creating a system 
for reporting suspicious financial transactions and fully standing 
up his Committee.  The World Bank advised Utebayev that the draft 
law still did not meet international standards and said that 
Kazakhstan could face serious repercussions if it was not passed 
soon. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) INL representatives met with Utebayev on October 15 to 
discuss assistance to the Committee.  Utebayev said he welcomes 
cooperation with the United States and is deeply interested in 
learning more about the operations of the U.S. FIU, FinCEN (the 
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network).  INL agreed to arrange and 
fund a study tour for Utebayev and his staff and will discuss the 
possibility of an assessment trip by officials from FinCEN. 
Utebayev also reiterated a request made at the coordination group 
meeting for technical and analytical training.  Utebayev 
specifically asked for Committee staff to be included in training 
offered to the financial police and customs service.  Utebayev 
expressed an interest in holding training programs at the Academy of 
State Service in Astana. 
 
BACKGROUND OF THE FIU 
 
¶5.  (U) The Committee on Financial Monitoring was established by an 
April 24, 2008 decree.  After lengthy debates about the appropriate 
ministry to oversee the Committee, it was placed under the Ministry 
of Finance.  Its charter, staffing pattern, and structure are to be 
determined in the near future.  In accordance with provisions of the 
draft money-laundering and terrorist-financing law, the Committee 
will be responsible for the collection and analysis of data on 
transactions subject to financial monitoring and transmission of 
information on potentially illegal transactions to law enforcement 
agencies. 
 
BIO NOTES 
 
¶6.  (U) Mussiraly Utebayev was appointed Chairman of the 
newly-created Committee on Financial Monitoring on October 1 by 
Minister of Finance Zhamishev.  Utebayev was born in 1950 in South 
Kazakhstan oblast and graduated from the Shymkent Pedagogical 
Institute in 1971.  He started his career as a teacher of 
mathematics and later worked in a government computer center in 
Shymkent.  In 1991, he graduated from the prestigious Academy of 
National Economy of the Soviet Union's Council of Ministries. 
(NOTE:  The Academy specialized in preparing students to become 
senior government officials; among the graduates of the Academy are 
former Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and former 
Ukrainian Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma.  END NOTE.) In 1991, 
Utebayev became Deputy Regional Administrator of Shymkent and 
remained in the position following the independence of Kazakhstan. 
From 1994 to 2002, he held several economic-related jobs in the 
government, including as an economic policy advisor to President 
 
ASTANA 00002119  002 OF 002 
 
 
Nazarbayev and Chairman of the National Budget Committee.  In 2002, 
he was elected to the Senate, where he remained until his current 
appointment.  In 2007, he was one of six Kazkahstani Senators to 
receive a medal from UNICEF in recognition of legislative activities 
related to children's rights and maternity.   Senate Chairman 
Tokayev honored Utebayev before he left the Senate and said that 
Utebayev may be considered one of the founders of Kazakhstan's 
financial system. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) COMMENT:  Utebayev appears to be committed to the creation 
of an FIU that meets international standards.  His experience and 
reputation in the Senate should be invaluable in getting the draft 
anti-money laundering law adopted and getting sufficient funding for 
his Committee.  We are pleased not only that the FIU was created 
within the Ministry of Finance, but also that such an experienced 
official was appointed to be its chairman.  Not only does he have a 
solid economic background, but he also has the necessary experience 
working with international organizations and other governments. 
During the INL meeting, Utebayev mentioned previous travel to the 
United States during which he studied tax institutions.  He seemed 
pleased with his experience in the United States and looks forward 
to continued cooperation.  END COMMENT. 
 
HOAGLAND