ASTANA -- The Kazakh Prosecutor-General's Office said on September 19 that it had launched a probe against former President Nursultan Nazarbaev's nephew Samat Abish on a charge of abuse of office while serving as the First Deputy Chairman of the Committee of National Security (KNB), the post he was dismissed from in January 2022 after mass anti-government protests turned violent, leaving at least 238 people dead.
Following the protests, Abish's boss, one of Nazarbaev's closest associates, KNB Chairman Karim Masimov, and his three other deputies were arrested on high-treason charges.
In April, Masimov was sentenced to 18 years in prison over his role in the deadly events that followed the unprecedented antigovernment protests. His former deputies, Anuar Sadyqulov, Daulet Erghozhin, and Marat Osipov, were sentenced to 16, 15, and three years in prison, respectively, at the same trial.
Nazarbaev, 83, and his inner circle lost power and influence after the January 2022 protests.
Nazarbaev resigned as president in 2019, picking longtime ally Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev as his successor.
But he retained sweeping powers as the head of the Security Council, enjoying the powers as "elbasy," the leader of the nation. Many of his relatives continued to hold important posts in the government, security agencies, and profitable energy groups.
The protests in January started over a fuel-price hike and spread across Kazakhstan amid widespread discontent over the cronyism that has long plagued the country. Toqaev subsequently stripped Nazarbaev of the Security Council role, taking it over himself.
Just days after the protests, Nazarbaev's two sons-in-law, Qairat Sharipbaev and Dimash Dosanov, were pushed out of top jobs at two major state companies, QazaqGaz and KazTransOil, respectively.
Timur Kulibaev, Nazarbaev's billionaire son-in-law, also resigned as chairman of the oil-rich country's main business-lobby group.
Since then, several other relatives and those close to the family have been pushed out of their positions or resigned. Some have been arrested on corruption charges.
In September 2022, a court in Astana sentenced Samat Abish's older brother Qairat Satybaldy to six years in prison on corruption charges.