Bota Foundation established

24 June 2008

The Bota Foundation, administered by the World Bank, held its first Board of Trustees meeting in June.

On June 4, 2008, the Bota Foundation held its first meeting of the Board of Trustees. The foundation, intended to aid poor children and youth, emerged after the United States and Switzerland took action under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, freezing $84 million in Swiss bank accounts belonging to Kazakhstani government officials. Through a civil forfeiture action in 2007, the seized funds were to be used first for the Bota Foundation, secondly for a financial management program for the Kazakhstani government, and thirdly for the implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

The World Bank was commissioned to monitor the Bota Foundation funds and help select the Board of Trustees, as well as an international non-governmental organization (NGO) to act as Program Manager, in cooperation with the U.S. and Swiss governments. The Board of Trustees includes health and education specialists, the executive director of Transparency Kazakhstan, the director of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, a Swiss representative, and U.S. Ambassador John Ordway. The foundation should begin operating in October.

Sources

BOTA Foundation Established (World Bank website, Acrobat pdf)

BOTA Foundation Information (World Bank website)

Civil Forfeiture Action, United States Attorney’s Office, May 3, 2007 (Department of Justice website, Acrobat pdf)