Kazakhstan surprised by U.S. decision to give political refuge
to a former Kazakh civil servant

ALMATY. Dec 4 (Interfax-Kazakhstan) - Vice-Chairman of Kazakhstan's National Security Committee Rakhat Aliyev has expressed surprise at the fact that the U.S. has granted the status of political refugee to a former Kazakh civil servant who has fled the country.

In June 2000, the U.S. granted the status of political refugee to the former general director of the State Fund for Mandatory Medical Insurance, Talapker Imanbayev, who was charged with embezzling 150 million tenge (144.15/$1).

Kazakhstan put Imanbayev on the international wanted list in 1998. The Kazakh Prosecutor-General's Office announced earlier that Imanbayev's whereabouts in the U.S. have been established, but in the absence of an agreement on extradition, the U.S. has refused to extradite him.