London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2025

UK Ministers told to freeze Kazakh assets worth £600m after protesters gunned down

UK Ministers told to freeze Kazakh assets worth £600m after protesters gunned down

Tory MP Tom Tugendhat is calling to profit from the situation as an sanctions in the wake of a brutal crackdown ordered by president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
Ministers have been urged to freeze more than £600m of UK assets owned by Kazakhstan’s ruling elites after the country’s government opened fire on protesters in the streets.

Amid violent unrest over surging energy prices and corruption, Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev told soldiers to “open fire with lethal force”.

The brutal crackdown has prompted calls for the Government to consider sanctions on properties and other wealth held in the UK by the regime’s top figures and their allies.

Sprawling mansions in central London and Surrey are among the properties owned by the Kazakh elite. Assets worth £370m are owned by the family of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev, according to Transparency International.

Tom Tugendhat, the Tory MP who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, said the Government should consider sanctioning such assets.

“Those who violate the human rights of their citizens should not be able to enjoy the privilege of holding wealth in the UK,” he said. “We need to be clear with the Kazakh elites that their actions will be scrutinised and their assets are in jeopardy.”

Tory MP Andrew Murrison, a former foreign minister, also called for ministers to be “far more robust” in their defence of pro-democracy forces in the country.

Properties amassed by Kazakh elites include a mansion on “billionaire’s row” in Hampstead, north London, owned by Dariga Nazarbayeva, a senior politician and daughter of Nazarbayev, and Nurali Aliyev, her son.

Meanwhile, Timur Kulibayev, a powerful gas oligarch who is married to another of Nazarbayev’s daughters, owns a sprawling mansion in Surrey. It is built on the site of Sunningwell Park, near Windsor Castle, that was bought from Prince Andrew for £15m.

Duncan Hames, director of policy at Transparency International UK, said the true British property portfolio of Kazakh figures was likely to exceed £600m because some were concealed by complicated ownership structures.

Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, has condemned violence in Kazakhstan but stopped short of promising action.

Professor John Heathershaw, an expert in central Asia politics at the University of Exeter, said: “The test for the British government is … whether it's willing to bring sanctions against members of the elite who may still have some influence in a country which regards us as an ally and where we are one of the top five trading partners.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
×