The question on some minds in Almaty is not if Kazakhstan’s financial hub will win the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, but rather, if Almaty does, who will steal the public funds designated for the Games. After all, few in Almaty were shocked to learn this week that the last time they hosted a big sporting bash, millions of dollars disappeared.
A judge in Almaty has sentenced Aidar Musin, a member of the 2011 Asian Winter Games organizing committee, to over five years in jail for embezzling more than $3 million from the state’s budget for those games, reports TengriNews.
Kazakhstan's financial police had alleged that a company with connections to Musin won a 1.4 billion tenge ($7.3 million) contract to provide a telecommunications system and equipment for a ski-jumping complex in Almaty. More than 600 million tenge ($3.3 million) from that contract disappeared, with Musin using some of this money to buy himself a 2009 model BMW 750 sedan and a 2011 model Mercedes Benz E-250 sedan, the Almaty City Court ruled.
Almaty is one of two finalists in the competition to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. Only Beijing is also still in the running after a gaggle of European cities pulled out, citing low public support for the billions necessary to host the spectacle.
Kazakh officials say they are keen to keep costs for the 2022 Winter Olympics under control by attracting sponsors and advertisers to cover most expenses. The budget is currently around $3.7 billion. But as with any major project in Kazakhstan, it is hard to avoid questions about corruption.