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Khrapunov, Victor

See: Khrapunova, Leila
Gender: .
State of concern: .

Who, Why and How exiled:

Khrapunov was mayor of Almaty from 1997 to 2004. He was later appointed governor of the East Kazakhstan region but was dismissed from that post in 2007 and served for a short time as emergency situations minister ( RFE, RL, 2018).

Khrapunov and his family moved to Switzerland in 2007 in the wake of a scandal surrounding parcels of land that he was accused of distributed illegally during his tenure as mayor. Khrapunov has rejected the charges against him and his wife, saying they are politically motivated. ( RFE/RL, 2018)

Khrapunov's stepson, Ilyas Khrapunov, is married to a daughter of fugitive Kazakh tycoon Mukhtar Ablyazov, a critic of President Nursultan Nazarbaev ( RFE, RL, 2018).

Category of exile: . (Definitions here.)
Alleged affiliation: Former insider.

Which stages experienced: not Stage 1   Stage 2   not Stage 3. (Definitions here.)
Date of most serious incident: 2018.
Violence experienced: .

Stage 1 details (accusations/ charges/ Interpol notice/ extradition requests):

In October 2018,  a court in Kazakhstan found Khrapunov and his wife, Leila Khrapunova, guilty of organization of a criminal group, financial fraud, and bribe-taking ( RFE/RL, 2018).

International arrest warrant: .

Countries of transit, asylum and/or residence: .

Legal status (refugee/ asylum seeker/ resident):

Khrapunov and his family moved to Switzerland in 2007 in the wake of a scandal surrounding parcels of land that he was accused of distributed illegally during his tenure as mayor ( RFE/RL, 2018).


Press sources:

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (2018). 'Kazakhstan: Former Almaty mayor, wife convicted and sentenced in absentia', 8 October 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5c34a6b29.html