Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/421389
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 23 NOVEMBER 2014 8 News Former secret service deputy head says publication of house address searched by Maltese police endangers his family MATTHEW VELLA KAZAKH exile Rakhat Aliyev – currently being held in an Austrian prison after turning himself him in for questioning on suspicion of murder – has written a letter of protest to MaltaToday for publicis- ing his Maltese address. In the letter, signed by lawyer Erich Gemeiner, Aliyev claims that the publication of his Madliena ad- dress, searched by Maltese police on court order to freeze his assets in Malta, was "wantonly negli- gent". "It could endanger my family as the Kazakh regime [have been] searching for us for years. It has always been my biggest concern to keep the whereabouts of my fam- ily a secret and this article is a huge setback to all my efforts of keeping my family safe," Aliyev, a former deputy head of the Kazakh secret service, said. In October, Maltese police con- ducted an inventory of his belong- ings found in the villa in Madliena where Aliyev and his wife Elnara Shorazova were living. Aliyev's lawyer, Joe Giglio has protested the fact that the court hearing ordering the police search was conducted behind closed doors, a procedure normally employed during sensi- tive criminal trials, at the request of the Attorney General. The Madliena mansion had once been the property of the National- ist Party's head of finance commis- sion, Ray Bugeja, who sold the villa 'L'Etoile' for €3,492,000 to Ganado Trustees & Fiduciaries in Novem- ber 2011. Up until February 2014, Ganado Trustees & Fiduciaries had a legal relationship with Aliyev, having acted as a nominee share- holder for an Aliyev company, Ol- ympia Yachting. Olympia Yachting is one of sever- al companies owned by the Aliyevs that were the subject of an asset freeze requested by the Attorney General earlier this year. In his letter to MaltaToday, Ali- yev said that the house search was highly questionable owing to the fact that Maltese police were act- ing on an assistance request by the Kazakh justice authorities. "They have trailed me for years and I am forced to defend myself against truthless [sic] accusations all too often. Even worse, especially because it is widely known that Kazakh authorities hunt my family and me, you also publish my villa's address, which could really endan- ger my family members." Aliyev has filed a constitutional application calling on the Court to declare that the asset freeze is against his right to a fair trial, and to lift the embargo on his wealth. The freezing order also affects his Austrian-naturalised wife Elnara Shorazova, prohibiting the couple from transferring any movable or immovable property. The Attorney General says the re- quest for assistance by the Kazakh justice authorities comes under the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, and that Malta is bound to collect such evidence as requested and hand it to the Kazakh govern- ment. "I hope you follow the code of honour of independent journal- ism… to do everything in your power to stop the mentioned ac- cusations and eliminate the men- tioned grievances," Aliyev said in his letter. "I urgently ask you not to publish any information that could lead anyone to the whereabouts of my family as we are traced by the Kazakh regime and KNB [secret service]." By a court order that was made public by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit, the assets of various companies belonging to Aliyev and registered at his Pendergardens address were frozen in 2014. Among the companies whose as- sets have been frozen are Olympic Yacht- ing, AJ Trust, Sydney Trust, Athina Trust, Acquarius Trust, Au- relius Holdings of Gi- braltar, EDS Holdings and Crimson Limited. Aliyev, who as ma- jor-general was the former deputy director of the Kazakh National Security Committee, was sentenced twice in absentia to 20-year prison terms for corruption, kidnapping, organ- ized criminal activity and abuse of office in Kazakhstan. Stripped of his diplomatic immu- nity in 2008, Austria refused to ex- tradite him and instead started in- vestigating the case itself, releasing Aliyev on a €1 million bail in 2011. He then used his right to free movement through his marriage to a naturalised Austrian citizen, set- ting up base in Malta. In April 2013 his Austrian passport was repealed following an inquiry by an Austrian ombudsman that found maladmin- istration in its issuance. He recently applied for Cypriot naturalisation. Aliyev, an opponent of Kazakh dictator Nursultan Nazarbayev and his former son-in-law, flew to Vi- enna voluntarily earlier in June for questioning by Austrian investiga- tors. He is wanted in Kazakhstan over the murder of two bankers, kidnapped in 2007 and later found dead – he denies the charges. He was formerly married to Dari- ga Nazarbayeva, eldest daughter of Mr Nazarbayev, an authoritarian ruler who has cracked down hard on any dissent. Kazakh exile takes issue with publication of house address Elderly woman involved in traffic accident in danger of dying A 65-year-old woman is in danger of dying following a traffic accident in- volving two other vehicles in Zabbar, the police said. An 18-year-old man was driving a Volkswagen Polo in Triq il-Labour, Zabbar while a 65-year-old man was driving a Maruti Omni van in an ad- joining side street. She was taken to Mater Dei Hospital for treatment where she was later certified as being in danger of dying. All three people involved are residents of Zabbar. A police magistrate appointed an inquiry into the case. Police investi- gations are ongoing. Rakhat Aliyev: still in prison in Austria Aliyev's house in Malta was searched by police for an inventory to be carried our on his wealth under an asset freeze