Exiled Kazakhstan opposition figure Mukhtar Ablyazov, who has just been released from custody in France, has told AFP he is aiming to topple the autocratic Kazakh regime within three years.
Ablyazov, a multi-millionaire who is said to own a mansion in London, said in an interview he would base himself in Paris to plot the downfall of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has been in power for nearly 27 years.
"My main aim is to bring democratic change to Kazakhstan and that Nazarbayev's regime falls," Ablyazov told AFP in an interview.
He said he also wanted to bring "economic reforms" to his country.
Last week a French court halted extradition proceedings brought by Russian authorities and freed Ablyazov after three years in custody.
He was arrested on the Cote d'Azur in 2013. Russia accuses him of swindling billions of dollars from the BTA bank.
"If I had been extradited to Russia, my life expectancy... would have been between one month and a year. I have no doubt that I would have been killed," he said.
Ablyazov, who was formerly energy minister in oil- and gas-rich Kazakhstan, has refugee status in Britain but said he wants to now try to obtain residency in France because he feels "safer" there.
"We must reform the political system to have a parliamentary republic and in the future political system I would like to take the role of prime minister," he said.
"I think in three years we can achieve this.
"I want people to take to the streets and organise protests or even occupy the presidential palace," he added.
Exiled Kazakhstan opposition figure Mukhtar Ablyazov, who has just been released from custody in France, has told AFP he is aiming to topple the autocratic Kazakh regime within three years.
Ablyazov, a multi-millionaire who is said to own a mansion in London, said in an interview he would base himself in Paris to plot the downfall of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has been in power for nearly 27 years.
“My main aim is to bring democratic change to Kazakhstan and that Nazarbayev’s regime falls,” Ablyazov told AFP in an interview.
He said he also wanted to bring “economic reforms” to his country.
Last week a French court halted extradition proceedings brought by Russian authorities and freed Ablyazov after three years in custody.
He was arrested on the Cote d’Azur in 2013. Russia accuses him of swindling billions of dollars from the BTA bank.
“If I had been extradited to Russia, my life expectancy… would have been between one month and a year. I have no doubt that I would have been killed,” he said.
Ablyazov, who was formerly energy minister in oil- and gas-rich Kazakhstan, has refugee status in Britain but said he wants to now try to obtain residency in France because he feels “safer” there.
“We must reform the political system to have a parliamentary republic and in the future political system I would like to take the role of prime minister,” he said.
“I think in three years we can achieve this.
“I want people to take to the streets and organise protests or even occupy the presidential palace,” he added.
