Rakhat Aliyev

An international movement called JusticeForNovikova.com began with the intention to bring Aliyev to justice for killing Anastasiya Novikova. The group's participants range from “independent human rights activists, advocates of victims of domestic violence, women’s rights activists, and criminal justice activists." According to their website, the project is “an informal international social networking project” with "no formal organizational affiliation.”

On 24 February 2015, on the 40th Day after death of his father, Rakhat Aliyev was found dead in the solitary cell of his Vienna prison. According to the official, Aliyev apparently committed suicide by hanging himself. However, his attorney, Klaus Ainedter, said he was highly suspicious of the death and expected a thorough investigation. "I have significant doubts about this without wanting to blame anyone. I visited him yesterday. There could be no talk whatsoever of danger of suicide," Ainedter said. The Federal Ministry of Justice (Austria) has officially confirmed the fact of Rakhat Aliyev's suicide in his prison cell. Thereafter Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan reported that the law enforcement agencies of the Republic of Kazakhstan insisted on their participation in the investigation into the death of Aliyev. A 2016 independent report ruled out suicide and noted that his body showed traces of burking.

After hiding in Malta to avoid an Interpol warrant for his arrest, and attempting to gain Cypriot citizenship, Aliyev was taken into custody in June 2014 by Austrian authorities on charges that include kidnapping and murder. He was jailed at the Josefstadt prison pending trial, and was placed under watch as a suicide risk.

Aliyev was arrested in June 2014 after he allegedly turned himself into authorities to cooperate with the murder investigation of the two bankers. His lawyer confirmed the arrest and said it took place at 11pm on 5 June 2014 on his way to the airport.

On 4 July 2014, Aliyev had been moved to a secure prison cell because of repeated attacks and threats by other inmates. He allegedly is forced to share a cell because of fear he might commit suicide. According to his lawyer, Manfred Ainedter, Aliyev complained that the other prisoners were asking for thousands of euros to leave him alone.

The movement began on 19 June 2014, the 10-year anniversary of Novikova's death. On that day protest were held at Lowndes Square. Aliyev denounced the Justice for Novikova protesters as agents of the Kazakh secret services.

Aliyev married his assistant, Elnara Shorazova, who held an Austrian passport, and assumed the masculine form of her surname, Shoraz, as his own name. The two fled to Malta, where the Maltese government seized their assets in connection with European money-laundering allegations in March 2014. Aliyev surrendered to Austrian authorities in June 2014.

According to reports, in November 2013 Aliyev tried to open a bank account in Cyprus with an invalid account which alerted authorities. The following January, two members of the European Parliament made public calls to the European Commissioner to get Eurojust and Europol to assist with the ongoing criminal investigations.

In 2013, Aliyev's Austrian passport was canceled by the decision of Austrian Minister of Interior. He allegedly wanted to obtain citizenship in Cyprus because it was becoming "too hot" in Malta because of all the investigations.

In 2013, Aliyev published a book Godfather-in-law, in which he accused Nazarbayev of being responsible for the murders of the opposition leaders.

On 17 June 2011, the Vienna Provincial Court for Criminal Matters rejected a second request for extradition by Kazakhstan because it was not free from doubt that Mr Aliyev would not be persecuted on political grounds in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan requested extradition to enforce the previously rendered convictions by the Almaty district court and the Akmola Military Court (see above).

Aliyev moved to Malta with his second wife Elnara Shorazova; the two allegedly began to dissolve and reorganize their money laundering network. MBR was sold to a Dubai-based company in March 2010. Armoreal Trading was liquidated in December 2010 while an Austrian company known as Veitlissen transferred 2.4 million Euro to A&P Power Ltd. In March 2011, A.V. Maximus Holding was sold to A&P Power Ltd and renamed Zurich Asset management.

As a result, his diplomatic passport was cancelled, as was his diplomatic immunity. Kazakhstan filed its first extradition request with Austria at this time. The domestic Kazak investigation concluded in January 2008 with Kazak courts sentencing Aliyev to 40 years of imprisonment in absentia. His crimes were kidnapping, treason and plotting a coup d'état against his father-in-law Nursultan Nazarbayev.

A criminal case against Aliyev and his accomplices ended in mid January 2008: abduction of three top managers of Nurbank in January 2007, the whereabouts of two of them is still unknown, and formation of an organized criminal group found guilty in raiding and document forgery. Almaty district court of Almaty sentenced Aliyev in absentia to 20 years in a high security prison with confiscation of property in this abduction case. The court also sentenced other people to lengthy prison terms. At the end of March 2008 Akmola Garrison Military Court found Rakhat Aliyev as a key person involved in preparations for a coup d'état and sentenced him to 20 years of imprisonment. Aliyev's sidekick Musayev, the ex- KNB chief, was also sentenced to 20 years of prison term. Aliyev and Musayev were found guilty under the following articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan: Article 168, Section 1 "Seizure of power through violence," Article 235, Section 4 "Formation and heading of an organized criminal group," Article 172, Section 4 "Illegal acquisition, disclosure of state secrets," Article 176, Section 3 "Embezzlement of some other's property," Article 251, Section 3 "Illegal trafficking of arms, ammunition and explosives," Article 255, Section 4 "Stealing of ammunition and explosives" as well as Article 380, Section 2 "Abuse of powers."

In February 2007, he was appointed to his second tour as Kazakhstan's ambassador to Austria and to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, before being relieved of his post and losing his diplomatic immunity.

Until June 2007, Aliyev was married to Dariga Nazarbayeva, the eldest daughter of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Aliyev reportedly kidnapped two managers of Nurbank in 2007; their bodies were found in 2011. In 2008, the Kazakh court convicted him in absentia of commissioning the double murders.

In addition, Aliyev reportedly also tortured and killed a 23-year-old TV presenter Anastasiya Novikova. According to reports, Novikova's family lost contact with her in 2004, but waited for three years before reporting her missing, on 26 July 2007. Letters obtained between and her family identified Aliyev as the father of her daughter. Novikova reportedly married Danijar Esten of the Kazakh Embassy in Vienna to cover for Aliyev's dalliance. The daughter was taken away from Novikova shortly after her birth.

Aliyev fled to Austria when he was being investigated for the murder of the two Nurbank managers. Before he was arrested, he was quickly appointed the new Kazakh ambassador to Austria on 9 February 2007 as a polite way to get him out of the country. While in Austria, Aliyev announced his candidacy for the upcoming Kazakhstan elections and criticized the sitting Kazakh President, Nursultan Nazarbayev. A full domestic Kazakh investigation began in May 2007 into Aliyev's activities.

On 9 February 2007, President Nursultan Nazarbayev appointed Aliyev as Ambassador of Kazakhstan in Austria and Permanent Representative to the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) and other international organizations in Vienna. The move occurred days after Aliyev became embroiled in a controversy over the disappearance of two former executives of the Kazakh bank Nurbank. 6 February 2007 the Financial police said they were investigating two former managers (both resigned from their position on 22 January 2007) of Nurbank on suspicion of fraud. After the permission of President Nazarbayev to Kazakh law enforcement bodies to investigate this criminal case “without regard for rank”, Aliyev was accused of abduction and extortion at the end of May 2007. On 22 May, Nursultan Nazarbayev signed constitutional amendments that effectively allow him to become president-for-life, a move denounced by the opposition. Aliyev joined the chorus of critics, saying the amendments threaten to torpedo Kazakhstan's OSCE chairmanship bid. Aliyev accused Nazarbayev of "de facto usurping" power. Following Aliyev's denial and claims that he had fallen victim to political repression, Nazarbayev on 26 May issued decree No. 333 stripping his son-in-law of all official positions. Two days later, the Interior Ministry issued a new statement saying an international arrest warrant had been issued and investigators had been dispatched to Vienna, site of the OSCE's headquarters, to nab him. The new statement said charges involving criminal association, economic crimes, and kidnapping had been brought against Aliyev. 26 May 2007, Rakhat Aliyev was relieved of his position as Ambassador to Austria and stripped of his diplomatic immunity.

On 30 May, the Kazakh government formally asked Austria to arrest Aliyev for kidnapping and extradite him to Kazakhstan. Arrest warrants were being issued for others in the inner circle of this once-powerful man. On 30 May 2007 his diplomatic immunity was removed. In a statement, Aliyev described the charges as absurd and said he was the victim of a political witch-hunt. On 7 August 2007 a Vienna court rejected a request from Kazakhstan to extradite Aliyev and ruled against extraditing the son-in-law of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who was wanted on charges of kidnapping. The court said the Rakhat Aliyev would not be given a fair trial in his home country and his human rights could not be guaranteed if he were sent back home.

On 13 June 2007, Aliyev was divorced from his wife, Dariga. He claims that the divorce was carried out without his knowledge or consent.

According to reports, Aliyev amassed a large fortune through defrauding a variety of companies and services while enjoying protection as son-in-law of the President, one of which was the Kazakhstani state soccer team. All of the financial interests were placed inside START Management consulting GmbH, a Viennese-based firm. Between March 2006 and January 2007, €1 million in sponsorship money disappeared from START accounts. Despite this, the contract between the two companies was renewed in early 2007 and 403,000 euros were transferred to START's account.

Aliyev was accused of killing the Kazakh opposition leader, Altynbek Sarsenbayev in February 2006 according to Kazakh prosecutors. In December 2013, prosecutors reportedly released findings that Aliyev ordered the assassination. January 2014, the office filed a notion to start a new case against Aliyev and the former head of National Security of Kazakhstan, Alnus Masayev, related to the involvement in the opposition leader's murder as well as his bodyguard and his lawyer.

In 2005, the investigation into this arrangement began when Wiesbaden were reportedly alerted about Armoreal Trading's suspicious loan activity. Nothing came of the complaint and the issue lay dormant until spring 2007, when three Austrian banks, Schoellerbank AG, Privitnvest Bank AG and M&A Privatbank AG, reported transactions involving Aliyev's company to the Austrian Interior Minister. The timing of these reports coincided with the divorce of Aliyev with his first wife, the daughter of the President of Kazakhstan, and his falling out of favour with the ruling family. All of his enterprises’ bank accounts were then blocked. The money originated in the late 1990s, when Aliyev was head of the tax office in Kazakhstan.

Aliyev allegedly tortured the two bodyguards of Akezhan Kazhegeldin to get them to confess to a coup d'état. The two men, lbrayev and Afanasenko, claimed that in April 2000, Aliyev tortured them for a total of 48 hours wanting them to confess that Kazhegeldin had been plotting a coup in Kazakhstan against Nazarbayev. According to the lawyer of the two accusers, Lothar de Maiziere, they addressed law enforcement of Malta demanding a criminal case but the authorities allegedly never followed through.

In addition to the Nurbank managers' kidnapping, Aliyev reportedly was accused of kidnapping Artem Mikoyan Yarikov, a Russian TV executive working in Kazakhstan the mid 1990s. Artem Mikoyan Yarikov allegedly saw Aliyev in a restaurant in Italy where Aliyev acted like nothing happened while Mikoyan Yarikov appeared disturbed by this sight.

Rakhat Aliyev was also accused of kidnapping a Russian TV executive working in Kazakhstan, Artyom Mikoyan, in the mid-1990s. and locked Mikoyan up in a basement where he kept him and said to Mikoyan that if he will give him all of the money that he made from his position (estimated 20 million), he will release and to tell no one about the incident. Artem Mikoyan fortunately managed to escape from Aliyev to Moscow and never to come back to Kazakhstan again.

Rakhat Mukhtaruly Aliyev (Kazakh: Рахат Мұхтарұлы Әлиев , Rahat Muhtaruly Álıev; 10 December 1962 – 24 February 2015) was a senior official of the government of Kazakhstan who died in an Austrian prison awaiting trial on charges of murder. His trial was planned to start in Vienna in first half of year 2015. Austrian legal circles were giving much attention to this high-profile criminal case in which a former diplomat was facing murder charges.