Country Reports on Terrorism 2012

Countering Terrorist Finance: Kazakhstan is a member of the Eurasian Group on Combating
Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, a Financial Action Task Force-style regional
body. In June, Kazakhstan adopted several changes and amendments to its existing terrorist
finance laws to eliminate gaps and contradictions in previous legislation. The Prosecutor
General's Office has indicated that it has plans to make lists of organizations that finance
terrorism based on information submitted by special services and law enforcement agencies with
counterterrorism responsibilities. Based on this information, the Prosecutor General’s Office
would be able to request that the Financial Monitoring Committee monitor the financial
operations of the organization in question.
In October, the Senate ratified a Customs Union treaty on money laundering and terrorist
finance. The Customs Union consists of Kazakhstan, Russia, and Belarus.
In October, three defendants in Uralsk were convicted under terrorist finance laws of providing
financial support to the Islamic Jihad Union.
For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, we refer you to the 2013
International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume 2, Money Laundering and
Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.
Regional and International Cooperation: Kazakhstan is an active participant in regional
counterterrorism efforts, and aspires to be a key regional leader in counterterrorism cooperation.
In June, regional representatives met in Almaty to discuss a joint plan of action for the
implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia. In August, expert
consultants from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization met in Almaty to discuss upcoming
joint activities. In August, Kazakhstani security forces conducted joint counterterrorism drills
with counterparts from Russia and Ukraine.
Countering Radicalization and Violent Extremism: The Government of Kazakhstan has
undertaken a number of efforts to address radicalization, including some that have negative
implications for the country’s efforts to meet international human rights norms. For example, a
new law on religion mandated the registration of religious groups throughout the country.
According to a representative of the Committee for National Security, the registration process
did not reveal any terrorist organizations in Kazakhstan, but several religious communities with
no links to violent registration complained that authorities denied them registration under the
new law. We refer you to the Department of State’s Annual Report to Congress on International
Religious Freedom (http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/) for further information.
According to a spokesperson, the Agency for Religious Affairs scrutinized 1,800 websites for
violent extremist content in the first nine months of the year. A representative of Kazakhstan’s
National Security Council claimed that 950 websites that promoted violent extremism have been
shut down since 2010. As part of the government’s plan to conduct a large-scale campaign to
counter radicalization in society, new legislation requires all media outlets in Kazakhstan to
assist state bodies in counterterrorism efforts; one consequence of this legislation is that several
legitimate opposition media outlets were declared “extremist” by Kazakhstani courts and ordered
to stop operations. We refer you to the Department of State’s Annual <strong>Country</strong> <strong>Reports</strong> on Human
Rights Practices (http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/) for further information.
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