... was "close friends" with Bidens

by Tyler Durden

Among the boldest and eye-brow raising political moves by embattled Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev within the past days that grabbed international headlines was his ordering the arrest of Kazakhstan's powerful former intelligence chief, Karim Massimov, on the charge of high treason.

Indicating that amid widespread fuel price unrest which quickly became aimed squarely at toppling Tokayav's rule there's a simultaneous power struggle within the government, Massimov had headed the National Security Committee (KNB) up until his Thursday sudden removal and detention. Massimov had served as the prior longtime strongman ruler Nursultan Nazarbayev's prime minister and has long been considered his "right hand man". Shortly after, a photo has resurfaced, currently subject of widespread speculation which shows Joe Biden and Hunter Biden posing with the now detained Kazakh security chief Karim Massimov, along with well-connected oligarch Kenes Rakishev.

Hunter and Joe Biden with Kenes Rakishev (left) and Kazakhstan's former prime minister and just arrested security chief, Karim Massimov (right). Source: Kazakhstani Initiative on Asset Recovery

Further an email and communications have surfaced, previously subject of extensive reporting in The Daily Mail, and related to prior extensive commentary and questions concerning Hunter's 'laptop from hell' - that appears to confirm that Hunter Biden and Massimov were "close friends".  Reporting at the time indicated that "when Biden was vice president, Hunter worked as a go-between between for Rakishev from 2012 until 2014. And further the emails were from "anti-corruption campaigners" in Kazakhstan showing that Hunter made contact with Rakishev. And more: "Per the report, Hunter successfully got a $1million investment from Rakishev to a politically-connected filmmaker."

According to a 2020 article in The New York Post written when the photo first began gaining attention among Western pundits, "The snap, first published by a Kazakhstani anti-corruption website in 2019, follows last week’s bombshell Post exposés detailing Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings and a report claiming Rakishev paid the Biden scion as a go-between to broker US investments." Concerning his relationship with Kazakh oligarchs and power-brokers, the NYPost story had detailed further:

...Hunter Biden’s alleged work with Rakishev, claiming he dined regularly with the Kazakh businessman and attempted to facilitate investment for his cash in New York, Washington, DC, and a Nevada mining company.

But Rakishev, who enjoys close ties to Kazakhstan’s kleptocratic former president, reportedly ran into trouble when Western business partners realized that the opaque origins of his reported $300 million fortune could become a “liability,” the Mail reported.

This brings up a slew of questions, starting with: What is the nature of the ties between the Biden family and Kazakhstan’s kleptocratic former president and his circle of oligarchs and powerful security officials?

Serious questions arise as the country is still on fire and Russia has sent some 3,000 peacekeeping troops in an attempt to reign in the spiraling security situation, which appears vital to Russia's interests.