Now that a constitutional crisis has subsided in Kyrgyzstan, non-governmental organization activists and opposition politicians are again mulling ways to revive a state investigation into the corrupt practices of former president Askar Akayev and his family.

The constitutional crisis, which gripped Kyrgyzstan from November 2-9, ended peacefully with the adoption of a new state framework enhancing legislative checks upon executive authority. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Just days before the start of unrest in Bishkek, NBC News reported that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation had prepared a report documenting Akayev's operation of a criminal network. The network's reputed aim was to siphon state funds into the pockets of the former president, as well as his family and friends.

The FBI report on Akayev's conduct reportedly raised questions about the fate of over $100 million in Pentagon sub-contracts awarded to companies controlled by Akayev family members. The two Akayev family-controlled entities supplied jet fuel to US forces operating at a military base outside of Bishkek. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Akayev was ousted amid the March 2005 Tulip Revolution and now resides in Russia. [For background see the Eurasia insight archive].

Although the FBI would not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation, many Kyrgyz believed the NBC report, which echoed earlier reports published by the New York Times and Financial Times. One of the demands aired by opposition demonstrators at the outset of the constitutional crisis was the return of property and funds allegedly embezzled by Akayev, along with his relatives and political cronies. The restitution call was quickly overshadowed by the power struggle between president and parliament. But now that a new system of checks and balances is in place, the restitution issue may again claim the center stage in Bishkek.

Edil Baisalov, a member of the opposition coalition that led the recent protests, told EurasiaNet in early November that both the United States and Kyrgyzstan needed to pursue the claims of corruption more doggedly. "This money could do great benefit to Kyrgyzstan," he said. "It is in the interest of the Kyrgyz people and in the interest of the American people that we find out what happened to it."

In response to the NBC report, the Pentagon said that all of its contracts followed procurement procedures established by the Department of Defense and that they also conformed to US law.

Members of Kyrgyzstan's political opposition, particularly MP and former Prosecutor-General Azimbek Beknazarov, have criticized the pace and scope of ongoing Kyrgyz government investigations into Akayev-era deals. On November 2, Beknazarov condemned the authorities' recent decision to drop several cases against Akayev associates and questioned their commitment to fighting corruption, according to news agency 24.kg.

Officials dispute allegations of inactivity. According to a briefing paper prepared this summer and distributed by Prosecutor General Kambaraly Kongantiyev, his office opened a total of 105 criminal cases against the former president and his associates between April 2005 and June 2006, involving assets totaling over $46 million. As of mid-November, Kyrgyz courts had handed down decisions in 32 of those cases, leading to 12 guilty verdicts. Investigations of the remaining cases have stalled, a source within the Kyrgyz law enforcement system told EurasiaNet.

The briefing paper cited several problems encountered by prosecutors, most notably a "lack of experience in investigating corruption when the accused parties include individuals from the highest echelons of power." The document also noted that many suspected offenders are living abroad and therefore beyond the Prosecutor-General's reach.

"The [outstanding] cases are complete; we just need to interview Akayev and his family," the law enforcement source added.

Chances appear dim that the cases can be wrapped up quickly. Via informal channels, the source said, Russia's Federal Security Service has told Kyrgyz officials that the Akayevs will not be available for questioning anytime soon. "They told us, in a friendly manner, that the Akayev family is under the protection of the Russian president's security detail," the source said. There is little that Bishkek can do to prompt a change in Moscow's stance. "We're [just] a small country," the source explained.

Sheradil Baktygulov, an independent expert on corruption, said that these factors, though important, were still "not the primary reasons" for the slow pace of the investigations. Rather, Baktygulov said that the real culprits are the corrupt networks that stayed in place after Akayev's departure. Despite the occasional reshuffle or replacement of senior officials, he said, "in principle, these are the same people, in the same positions, as those who were there at the time of Askar Akayev."

Thoroughly investigating the alleged graft under Akayev, Baktygulov went on, would involve a level of housecleaning that would leave many current officials uncomfortable. "If the talk is about uncovering these informal structures, then all of that stolen property would have to be returned to the state budget. And who wants that?"

Meanwhile, Bermet Akayeva, the president's daughter, told the Ferghana.ru news service that the NBC report was "absolutely groundless." She claimed that reports about Akayev family corruption were "reanimated in order to distract the general public from the [deteriorating economic] situation in the country."