The family say they have been victims of computer attacks by Kazakh authorities.<\/p>\n
When the federal adviser Johann Schneider-Ammann opened an official visit to Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan on Wednesday, the hidden war between the Kazakh authorities and the Khrapunov family was underway. Two penal suits were opened in January in Geneva and Zurich after a complaint was filed for \u201cunlawful access to a computer system\u201d, \u201cdata harvesting\u201d and \u201cactions illegally carried out for a foreign government\u201d.<\/p>\n
The charges were filed by Viktor Khrapunov and by the Lalive legal firm employee in Zurich, who works for the former Kazakh minister. A third complaint was filed by an attorney of Leila Khrapunova\u2019s, the wife of Viktor Khrapunov.<\/p>\n
According to the plaintiffs, Kazakh authorities are behind these attacks. Viktor Khrapunov\u2019s communication manager, consultant Marc Comina accuses: \u201cSpy viruses have been attempted to be placed several times onto the computers of Viktor Khrapunov and his attorneys\u201d. \u201cIt can\u2019t be anything else,\u201d the Geneva attorney told us, who filed a complaint and prefers to remain anonymous. The names of the Khrapunov children are mentioned in the subject line of compromising emails, which were clearly meant for us only\u201d.<\/p>\n
For Marc Comina, \u201cit is shocking to see that the Kazakh government, which constantly makes government propaganda and espionage, shamelessly uses the same authoritarian and antidemocratic methods in Switzerland with the aim of intimidating opponents to the regime.\u201d Jean-Bernard Schmid, the attorney in charge of the case simply says that \u201cthe issues denounced are not without consequence. An investigation is underway.\u201d<\/p>\n
War of words<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n The Khrapunov family, which comprises the couple and their adult children Elvira and Iliya, is itself being investigated for money laundering, a case that was opened last autumn. The Geneva Public Prosecutor granted the request for legal mutual aid made by Kazakhstan in the spring of 2012. Viktor Khrapunov is accused of using his position to let his wife get rich in real estate operations.<\/p>\n In this story, each of the parties are trying to play their cards right. In February and March, the Zurich-based law firm Homburger, which was mandated by the Kazakh authorities for its public relations, approached German-Swiss newspapers, including laNZZ, to show them the documents linked with the request for legal mutual aid. Le Temps contacted Homburger this Wednesday, and they declined to respond.<\/p>\n For Marc Comina, the Kazakh prosecution may have another motive besides corruption. Its client \u201chas given several interviews in the West and in the rare independent Kazakh media to denounce the government\u2019s current and past actions, especially the systematic pillage of government infrastructure and resources. For the Kazakh government, which has invested billions in big international campaigns to spruce up its image abroad, it is preventing it from running around in circles, and must be silenced.\u201d The marriage of the son Iliyas to the daughter of billionaire Mukhtar Abliyasov, the opponent to President Nursultan Nazarbaiev, who has been in power for 22 years, hasn\u2019t help things any. Iliyas Khrapunov is known in Switzerland for his extravagant real estate projects. His father was a minister and the mayor of the former capital before fleeing to Geneva (LT, Dec. 28, 2011)<\/p>\n Will Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbaiev bring this up with Johann Schneider-Ammann? The purpose of the trip is clear: \u201cStrengthen economic ties with these partners who are ever more important and who are members of the Swiss voting group in Bretton Woods institutions\u201d, said the Federal Department of the Economy on Tuesday.<\/p>\n At its last parlementary session, national advisor Carlo Sommaruga (PS\/GE) called upon the Federal Council to know \u201chow human rights made it onto the agenda of this trip\u201d. The spokesperson for the DEFR, Eric Reumann said Wednesday that \u201cSwitzerland has always preoccupied with reminding of the values of a democratic society.\u201d<\/p>\n