The recent allegations of corruption surrounding Aurora Minerals Group (a Kazakh/ Australian Group ) again point to an entangled state of corruption where public officials make a mockery of the so-called governmental regulatory system.

Aurora Minerals Group was founded in 2015 by Kaisar Kozhamuratov and Said Sultanov, two ex civil servants of the Kazakh government, who had extensive experience in the country’s mining sector. While Mr Kaisar Kozhamuratov has been a deputy head of the Republican Centre for geological information, KazGeoInform (Ministry of Industry and New Technologies) and later managing director of KazGeology, a national exploration company, Mr Said Sultanov worked at senior positions in KazGeoInform and KazGeology.

Their company, Aurora advertises itself as a “full-chain exploration service provider in Kazakhstan and Central Asia”, is allegedly being used as a front for diverting investor money over the last eight years since its foundation. These allegations, if proven true, again point to the challenges faced by junior miners in a country with potential mineral deposits but an overly corrupt, skewed and inefficient system which allows for minimal operational flexibility and maximum liability for foreign firms.

Add to this the risk of geopolitical instability and threat of secondary sanctions due to the Russia factor, one must tread with extreme care and caution.

Russia is using countries like Kazakhstan and corrupt businessmen like promoters of the group into mining to divert sanctions, funnel money through mines and minerals.

Reference Report -

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