Kazakhstan’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested the son of a prominent Kazakh parliamentarian on Thursday for alleged bribery while at the helm of a state contract agency.

Baiterek Development Deputy Chairman Aslan Jakupov was among three arrested for allegedly receiving 28 million tenge (US$ 82,129) in bribes in exchange for a government public housing contract worth 3.4 billion tenge ($9.97 million) in the city of Pavlodar. Jakupov is suspected of receiving similar bribes for government contracts through a scheme that involved 13 companies and spanned several regions of the Central Asian nation, investigators said in a statement.

Jakupov is the son of former lower house speaker Kabibulla Jakupov. Investigators quickly downplayed any connection between the elder Jakupov and his son’s alleged crimes.

Local anti-corruption authorities also arrested two other heads of Baiterek Development in connection to the case.

The suspects allegedly received bribes in connection with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s massive, state-funded $9 billion stimulus plan, which began in 2014.

Aslan Jakupov’s name appears in the Panama Papers as being a shareholder of the Panamanian offshore Zoldane SA. His brother, Zhaslan Jakupov, also a shareholder in Panamanian offshores, has denied that his brother is involved in any criminal activity.

Photo: Kabibulla Jakupov currently serves in the Kazakh parliament
occrp.org