The onset of fall is marking another step in the decline of the House of Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan.

Gulmira Satybaldy, the ex-wife of Nazarbayev’s nephew, received a 12-year prison term following her late-August conviction on a variety of charges relating to efforts to coerce a former business partner into giving up his share in their venture. The court also ordered the confiscation of her assets, and payment of about 3.2 billion tenge ($6.7 million) in damages. At the time of her conviction, Satybaldy was already imprisoned for other crimes.

The court in late August also found a second defendant, Satybaldy's personal driver, Madi Batyrshayev, guilty of illegal imprisonment and sentenced him to nine years in prison.

Satybaldy’s ex-husband, Kairat Satybaldy, was sentenced to six years in prison in September 2022 for grand theft. As a nephew of the former president, he is said to have exploited his family connections to siphon assets and money from state-controlled companies, including the telecoms giant Kazakhtelecom and a railway services firm. Of late, Satybaldy has been gradually returning stolen assets, and in August, a court approved his release from prison to serve the remainder of his sentence under restricted freedom. 

The Nazarbayev family’s prestige and power have experienced a precipitous decline over the past few years. Since 2022, incumbent President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s administration has assiduously stripped members of the former ruling family, as well as close associates, of state positions and influence, and in some cases, such as those involving the Satybaldys, pursued criminal charges. 

Nazarbayev himself has withdrawn completely from public life, and no longer makes public appearances. Under constitutional changes approved in June 2022, he lost his status as “father of the nation” and no longer has any governmental role. The nation’s capital was renamed Nur-Sultan in 2019 in Nazarbayev’s honor, but in late 2022 it reverted to its previous name, Astana.