Former president of Kyrgyzstan Askar Akayev left for Moscow yesterday after being questioned by investigators of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) within the criminal case on Kumtor.
He gave an interview to the Russian MK media outlet.
«In 2021, I visited my homeland twice. I spent one week there in the summer and one week in December. There I worked very closely with law enforcement agencies, every day from morning to evening. I can say that there are no complaints against me at home now, all cases are closed. Now I, like any other citizen of Kyrgyzstan, can come there any time,» Askar Akayev said.
According to him, the current head of state Sadyr Japarov played the main role in it. He personally called the former president and said that many different cases have accumulated in Kyrgyzstan in relation to him over 16 years, many of which are far-fetched, but explanations and answers are needed in order to close them.
I gratefully accepted the invitation to come to Bishkek. In addition, I am grateful to the head of the State Committee for National Security, General Kamchybek Tashiev. He and all his subordinates treated me very kindly.
Askar Akayev
«They were very empathetic, although they acted strictly according to the law. There was no doubt, because the issue of my trip was agreed upon at the level of the presidents of Russia and Kyrgyzstan, Vladimir Putin and Sadyr Japarov. I am immensely grateful to Vladimir Vladimirovich for being so hospitable to me in the Russian Federation. I have been working here for 16 years, the most comfortable conditions have been created for my whole family,» he said.
Akayev said that he was involved in the Kumtor case both as a witness and as an accused.
«Most of the questions I was asked in Bishkek related to this particular case. After all, I know most about this enterprise, it was I who found the investor in the early 1990s. They worked well at first. In the 1990s, in the conditions of high mountains and permafrost, the largest gold mining enterprise in Central Asia was built in record time — for three years. The first gold was produced in 1997. However, in the early 2000s, they began to abuse, caused great damage to the environment, and corrupted some of our officials. I can’t say more not to harm the case. But I have settled all the issues concerning myself and tried to provide the investigators with all the necessary information that would help them in international courts,» he said.
According to Askar Akayev, the chances of Kyrgyzstan to win the case are high, because the damage to the environment was enormous. «I hope the country will win and Kumtor will be used for the benefit of the people,» he added.
The former head of state also recalled the events in March 2005, when he was overthrown by the opposition.
«The international community recognizes today that a coup d’etat took place in Kyrgyzstan in 2005. Those events were led by Bakiyev, Atambayev and Otunbayeva. They took turns as presidents and, naturally, all the time they tried to bring some charges against me, although the Prosecutor General’s Office admitted that many of the accusations were far-fetched. After Atambayev, his protege Jeenbekov came to power, who was also not interested in objective consideration of my issue. Only Japarov treated me fairly. He honestly told me that he could not cancel criminal cases, they need my participation to close them. I agreed with that. I knew right away that I could return home. During the reign of previous presidents, the fifth or tenth prosecutors from other law enforcement agencies of Kyrgyzstan approached me. Moreover, they threatened me with a wanted list, lengthy imprisonment, and so on. I ignored all their statements and told them not to threaten me, because great Russia protects me. Then the head of state himself called me, he does not waste words,» he commented.
Askar Akayev arrived in the capital again on December 14. He already came to Kyrgyzstan in August. After the interrogation by the SCNS, the former president entered into a plea bargain and made a confession. The second time he was also interrogated by the special services within the Kumtor case.
