by jonathan green photography by Carolyn drake

Mark Seidenfeld was just another American cashing in on the post- Soviet boom. Then one bad deal in sent his life into a spiral of extortion, murder, siberian prison, and the squeaky wheels of international justice in the age of globalization. A cautionary tale.

DARK DAYS: Seidenfeld enters the courtroom to await his verdict. Right, the view from Dostyk Street in Almaty, with the Zaliskye Alatau mountains rising behind the Rolex buildings. Photograph:

700 Fast company SeptemberNovember 2007 2007 by jonathan green photography by Carolyn drake nightmare in boom town As he watched the wind-scarred steppe of the good news to his bosses. And soon he eastern Siberia scroll by the car, Mark would be back to the cozy apartment he Seidenfeld couldn’t resist cracking a grin. shared with his Russian fiancée, Natiya, Last night’s vodka was still bleeding who is eleven years his junior; in two through him, swirling with the high of weeks they’d set off on a lavish vacation yet another triumph. As the newly in Spain. It was December 7, 2005. Life appointed director of mergers and acqui- was good. sitions for Golden Telecom, a U.S. firm Seidenfeld, a native of Brooklyn who based in Moscow, he had been sent along was then 37 years old, had been working with two colleagues to Blagoveshchensk, in the former Soviet states for 12 years. a river port city of 200,000 on the Rus- During that time he had learned an sian/Chinese border, to investigate a $2 important Russian business maxim: “It is million telecom outfit and see if it was better to ask for forgiveness than permis- worth buying. It was a perfunctory trip sion.” Seidenfeld had sailed close to the with a modest return, assuming the deal wind more than once, thrown in among went through at all. But while in town, people who were more gangsters than Seidenfeld had discovered two other com- businessmen. That fact was made plain to panies that might be worth scooping up, him when one of his partners was shot a and now he was looking at a possible $15 dead, point blank, in Moscow in 1997. But million deal. The locals were elated about Seidenfeld himself had managed to the potential cash influx, and that morn- thrive. He might not be bulletproof, but ing Seidenfeld had sat braced against the he was proving clever and tough enough subzero cold in his sheepskin jacket and to stay in the game, and keep winning. chatted with the town’s deputy mayor. As he checked in for the flight to Mos- Now he was heading to the airport to cow, though, something was wrong. The catch a flight home to Moscow and relay woman behind the counter eyed him sus- piciously. Then a Russian police official in a sky-blue greatcoat and a massive Soviet-era cap stepped up and led him away, to a room behind the check-in desk where a plainclothes detective sat wait- ing. Within hours Seidenfeld was locked in a tiny, unheated cell in a detention cen- ter just across the Amur River from China. That night, terrified, he shivered under a coarse blanket as the tempera- ture outside dropped to minus 20. At 5- foot-8, with a slight paunch from too many client dinners, he was a soft target for the thugs who surrounded him. His cockiness deserted him. A few days later, Seidenfeld was taken to a holding cell at a local court. There he learned he was being charged with embez- zling $43,000 from a company called

BLING IN THE LAND OF BORAT: Luxury brands such as Mercedes, Armani, Ritz-Carlton, and TKLIQUOR have found a ravenous market in Almaty.

702 Fast company November 2007 OPEN FOR BUSINESS: As Kazakhstan’s economy has exploded, Almaty’s drab Soviet-era skyline has been eclipsed by gleaming, mirrored high-rises such as the Nurlytau Business Center on Al-Farabi Street.

Arna, in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where he In reality, Kazakhstan has been riding found their economy increasingly con- had been CEO from 2002 to 2004; the a free-market boom of a magnitude few trolled by outsiders (and increasingly suc- Kazakh authorities wanted him back to countries have ever seen, buoyed along cessful) they’ve moved to reclaim it—by face trial. So began a treacherous 19- on its elephantine oil reserves in the Cas- any means necessary. According to Trans- month slog through the morass of the pian Sea—the Tengiz, Kashagan, and parency International, a Berlin-based post-Soviet justice system. Seidenfeld Karachaganak oil fields. Unlike Russia NGO, Kazakhstan rates 111th on the 2006 would face extortion attempts, corrupt and , which have a history of Transparency International Perceptions cops, fabricated evidence, and the wrath shunning foreign investment, Kazakh- Index. That’s behind Colombia, Libya and of a Kazakh tycoon. It was a nightmare stan embraced it early on, and U.S. firms Syria. “Foreign investment in virtually all scenario come to life—and a stark exam- promptly saddled up for a new gold rush sectors is restricted by exclusive barriers,” ple of the perils of frontier capitalism. in the wild, wild east, with oil companies says a report from the Heritage Founda- such as Chevron carrying the flag. After tion’s Index of Economic Freedom. “Gov- azakhstan was once the boneyard Big Oil came power giant AES, which ernment policy actively favors domestic of the . Its sprawling alone invested more than $200 million, businesses, and the weak rule of law allows plains were home to Stalin’s labor and about 100 other companies: Citi- for significant corruption and insecure Kcamps and later became the group, Hewlett Packard, Nestle, Philip property rights.” According to the report principal nuclear test-site for the Soviets. Morris, Proctor & Gamble. Some $46 bil- “Doing Business in Kazakhstan,” pro- In 1991, with the collapse of communism, lion of foreign investment has since been duced by the U.S. Commercial Service in Kazakhstan was last of the Soviet states sunk into the republic, including about Almaty, there are “frequent harassments to declare independence. The country $12.5 billion from the United States, mak- by local and national ‘financial police’ and has rarely made the news since—unless ing this country Kazakhstan’s biggest for- other taxation authorities through gener- you count the movie Borat, which lam- eign investor. ally intrusive inspections. Quite often, pooned the place as an inbred, anti-Semitic, For a while, the U.S. presence in these cases with the tax authorities lead to goat-herding backwater where the town Kazakhstan was a win-win for both coun- criminal charges by local governmental rapist is just another lovable rogue. tries. But times change. As the Kazakhs officials as a pressure tactic.”

November 2007 Fast company 703 Amid this freeform culture of corrup- tion, foreign investors—especially those on the ground—have been forced to walk an increasingly vague and hazardous line. For many, however, the money is simply too big to walk away from. And anyone expecting Washington to step in to referee is missing a larger reality. Our perceived strategic interests—not only Kazakhstan’s oil reserves but also its geo- graphic position between China, Russia, and the Middle East—have drawn the U.S. government into its own set of compro- mises. We need Kazakhstan, the official line runs, and the country’s current AFTER HOURS: Flush with cash, Almaty enjoys a regime—like those in Saudi Arabia, Paki- thriving nightlife. This page, a chauffeur outside a Thai restaurant called Thai. Opposite page, an stan, and any number of other dodgy invite-only party at the club Euphoria. strategic partners—has proven “coopera- tive” on issues such as terrorism and nuclear weapons. In other words, in order to cement its government has refused to declassify in Arna. “If I didn’t, they said I would be influence in Kazakhstan, Washington documents the defense says would estab- held indefinitely,” Seidenfeld says. “But I has been forced into a delicate balancing lish the connection, despite pressure just didn’t have that sort of money.” A lesser act that requires tacit approval, or at least from the judge. offer of $3 million came through a few some tolerance, of systemic corruption. months later. Then the price dropped to $1 Witness the case of James Giffen, once an s the months passed after his million. Seidenfeld didn’t have the cash. advisor to Kazakhstan’s President arrest, Seidenfeld came to the He remained in jail. Nursultan Nazarbayev and the former creeping realization that he’d After eleven months in Siberia, Seiden- CEO of Mercator, a small New York–based Abeen hung out to dry. The U.S. feld was loaded aboard a prison train in merchant bank. Giffen, who was the State Department had done next to noth- October 2006 to be extradited from Russia model for the “Mr. Kazakhstan” charac- ing to get him sprung. Weighed against to Kazakhstan. For 32 days he was stuffed ter in the film Syriana, was due in Man- Washington’s other regional priorities, a into a boxcar with one toilet for 60 con- hattan’s Federal District Court last month small-time telecom executive, American or victs, in a 3½-by-7-foot cell. Natiya doggedly to face charges of money laundering, not, didn’t add up to much. As one local followed the train on its 3,000-mile jour- wire fraud, and breaching the Foreign businessman told me, he was “a ney, intercepting it each day as it stopped Corrupt Practices Act. Specifically, the nobody.” at detention centers. Word of the presence case alleges he paid more than $78 mil- Ironically, Seidenfeld says his real of a wealthy Western businessman had lion in bribes to the Kazakh president “crime” was trying to conduct an honest, traveled fast among the prisoners, and and the former oil and gas minister to transparent transaction. He had tried to Seidenfeld learned early on the impor- secure contracts in the Tengiz oil fields sell a controlling stake in Arna in a pub- tance of isolating himself as much as pos- for Exxon Mobil, BP, Texaco, and Cono- lic auction to the highest bidder, riling sible. Natiya secured local lawyers, bribed coPhilips. He is accused of creating Swiss the company’s sole Kazakh shareholder, officials, and did whatever she could to bank accounts with which to pay tuition Murat Zhunussov. Zhunussov did ulti- make sure Seidenfeld traveled in his own at exclusive boarding schools for family mately take control of the firm but not at compartment. He kept his head down members of Kazakh officials, and to buy the knockdown price he was pushing for. while shuffling to and from different speedboats, fur coats, jewelry, and other Seidenfeld’s refusal to cut a sweetheart prison stops, to avoid the batons of the lavish gifts for the president and his deal cost the Kazakh about $4.5CK mil- more sadistic guards. “If I had been kept family. lion. “I had no idea the lengths he would with the rest of the of the population, I “Kazakhgate” is the largest foreign go to get me for that,” says Seidenfeld. might not be around today,” he says. bribery suit ever brought against a U.S. But there was a way out. A few weeks Seidenfeld arrived back in Almaty in a citizen. Giffen’s lawyers contend he was after Seidenfeld’s arrest, his local attor- juddering Soviet prison truck. In the city acting with the full approval of the U.S. neys conveyed a message that came via a where just two years ago he’d lived the government, with the encouragement of Kazakh lawyer for ZhunussovCK, who high life of a corporate executive, he now senior officials at the CIA, the State said he could have Seidenfeld freed if he took up residence at Institution LA 155, a Department, and even the White House. paid a ransom of $5CK million, either in broken-down building east of town with Citing national security interests, the cash or by buying grossly inflated shares a cracked roof and a rusty blue gate.

704 Fast company November 2007 >>“You won’t find any losers here. The losers have to go home.”

November 2007 Fast company 705 >>“God is punishing him,” she told me. “Mark! God wants you to wake up!”

given day. Just don’t ask anyone how they ism’s ban under the Communists. “He made their first million.” was such a good, holy person,” says Devo- Secrecy and fear seep into every aspect rah. “He was well liked. And he had this of business life here, and few are willing to beautiful singing voice; he was a cantor.” put their heads above the parapet to talk. Technology, as well as the Torah, had “Kazakhstan is one of the most difficult long fascinated Seidenfeld, and when it operating environments on the planet,” became clear that performing circumci- says an oil executive we’ll call Brian, who sions and teaching scripture weren’t says he was nearly forced to hand over his going to provide much of a living, he company to local government officials. “It’s began moonlighting selling calling cards. A MAN OF FAITH: A young Seidenfeld and his then- all a big sucker punch. They bring you in He ran the operation from his dining wife and two children moved to the former Soviet close so that they can bleed you, punch and room table with Devorah, and quickly he Union in 1991. He was a newly ordained rabbi. kick you, and take what you have. It’s gang- found that he had a flair for business. In ster capitalism. If you build a business that 1995 he cofounded a telephone company, utside the gates of Seidenfeld’s makes money, then the vampires come. Corbina, which grossed more than prison, a Central Asian answer And you have to have repellent.” When $150,000 in the first six months. to Dubai is fast rising from the Brian refused to cooperate, he says, “some Soon enough, Seidenfeld, like Russia, Osteppe. The smell of wet con- guys tried to poison me. I slept with a load- began to change with the times. Even as crete coats the streets of Almaty as migrant ed shotgun under my bed. I had a Kalash- the Russians were throwing off their old Uzbek crews erect the city’s countless mir- nikov with three clips in my car and an oppressions, Seidenfeld was sloughing rored skyscrapers, their facades muscling RPG by my bed for a month.” He managed off his orthodoxy, drawn to the many up at sunset to remake the dreary Soviet- to escape with his firm only after counter- charms of the marketplace. And as he era skyline. Real-estate prices here have attacking with a platoon of lawyers who drifted away from his rabbinical work, he shot from $150 a square foot in 1995 to cost him millions. “If you are not in a posi- started moving in some shady circles. “In close to $900 today; in the posh Jubilee tion to defend yourself,” he says, “you will Moscow he fell in with a bad crowd,” says district, where the velvety foothills become get f--ked. Period.” Devorah. “He was going to bars and strip the mountains of Tien Shan, a basic four Seidenfeld himself acknowledges it was clubs. It all went to his head.” In 1996 he bedroom runs upwards of $3 million. impossible to operate without paying left Corbina after a falling out with his Aston Martins, Ferraris, and Mercedes are bribes. “Everyone has his hand out,” he partner and started Westcall, another everywhere, reflecting the neon-lit win- says. “It takes up a lot of time for anyone telephone and internet company, with dows of Chanel and Armani as they slide doing business in this part of the world.” offices in both Moscow and St. Peters- past. (Never mind that the roads peter out He explains: “No one comes round and burg. It was an immediate success, but a few miles beyond the city, impassable in says give me a bribe. How it works is that plunged him still further into the seamy anything less than a 4x4.) A table at Cris- the fire department come round and say side of the city. In the summer of 1997, tobal nightclub will cost you a $1,000; a they will get all sorts of anonymous tips one of Seidenfeld’s partners, Andre basic room at the Hyatt, $450 a night. As that they will have to come and investigate. Yurievic, was murdered in broad daylight one American businessman says flatly: That could really disrupt your workflow. If as he stepped out of an elevator over a “You won’t find any losers here. The losers you get the tax people, it’s even worse. They business deal gone badCK. The killing have to go home.” can tie up your accounting staff from any- was never solvedCK; Seidenfeld won’t If there were ever any real rules for where from a week to two months.” talk about it. business in Almaty, the city’s cash-crazed “Mark freaked out,” says Devorah. culture has devoured them as fast as they ark “Menachem” Seidenfeld Seidenfeld had a friend drive him to the air- were written. “A small- to medium-size originally came to Russia in port with a security guard early one morn- company coming here will have to break 1991 with his wife, Devorah, ing a few days later. He fled to New York. the law left, right, and center,” says Nich- Mand two young children—not “He was so scared,” she says. “I wasn’t sup- olas Levenetz, director of sales and mar- to make a fortune, but as a newly ordained posed to say anything to anybody.” A few keting at real-estate company Scott Hol- rabbi. He was an ambitious, confident days later she and the children (now five of land. “It’s impossible to stay clean. Some young man who wore his black hat at a them), left to stay with her mother in Israel. people like to jump out of airplanes to get rakish angle and felt a missionary urge to The family reconnected when Mark took a a high; I like doing business here on any return the faithful to the fold after Juda- position in Belgium, but by then a terrible

706 Fast company November 2007 FINAL RECKONING: Clockwise from far left, Seidenfeld’s fiance, Natiya, and ex-wife, Devorah, sit uncomfortably close during the trial; Judge Keikebasova presides; Seidenfeld, free at last.

crack had appeared in the marriage. The allure of life as a single executive eventual- ly won out. The couple split in 2000 and eventually divorced. In January 2002 Seidenfeld signed on as General Director of Arna. The Kazakhstan telecom market at the time was exploding: 20% annual growth, projected to be worth $10 billion by 2010. Arna was a bloated, inefficientCK company when Seidenfeld came on, and he attacked its problems with red Porsche, lifted weights, practiced jiu- he warning signs were every- the same gusto he had brought to his early jitsu, and gambled avidly. He also boasted where. Seidenfeld’s British pre- work as a rabbi. excellent connections within the govern- decessor at Arna, Stephen Hob- The company’s ownership was split ment, including to President Nazarbayev’s Tson, had left the country after two ways: Eighty-three percent was held daughter, Dariga, who was married to angering Zhunussov, escorted to the air- by a fund run by Eagle Venture Partners— Rakhat Aliyev, thenCK one of the most port under armed guard, terrified of a joint ventureCK of the European Bank feared and powerful men in the country. being murdered. But Seidenfeld plunged of Reconstruction and Development Short but heavily muscled, Aliyev inspires ahead. He fired staff and brought in new (EBRD) and Belgian investment bank such terror my translator wouldn’t even workers. He created new billing systems. GIMV—and 17% by Murat Zhunussov. At say his name in public. He officially held He was fascinated with VoIP technology the time, Zhunussov was known to senior positions in the government in the and installed new phone lines everywhere Seidenfeld only as a crucial local partner. Committee For National Security and the from the American embassy to Kazakh By tradition, all foreign-owned business- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, yet it was government offices. Within two years, es in Kazakhstan need an investor on widely believedCK that he amassed his Arna was the second biggest broadband board from inside the country, a sort of fortune by seizing companies and extort- provider in Almaty, and the company’s consigliere. The idea is that only a local can ing businesspeople. (He has since fled the revenue had doubled. navigate the bureaucracy, bribe the right country after being charged with abduct- Even though Seidenfeld was doing people, and stave off the predatory forces ing two Kazakh bankers, one of whom well, he was making enemies. “Mark used outside. In reality, of course, the arrange- was last seen on a bank security tape being to fly by the seat of his pants,” says the ment often ensures corruption and opens taken away by Aliyev himselfCK.) Aliyev’s EBRD’s John Ward, who served on Arna’s a back door into company coffers. primary tool was the national financial board of directors. “He wasn’t world-wise Zhunussov at the time was aggressive- police, a corps of 100 elite officers that sometimes. He got the company hum- ly carving a place for himself in the newly reported to him. It was the financial police ming, but he was out of his head.” Zhu- privatized Kazakhstan. A debonair figure who eventually brought the charges against nussov, in particular, grew increasingly in fine European suits, he drove a bright Seidenfeld and arranged for his arrest. annoyed with Seidenfeld’s meddling, not

November 2007 Fast company 707 >>“It’s a wild west atmosphere. You can’t come in with U.S. or U.K. rules.” to mention his growing savvy in the venal pany $43,000 for calling card equipment he the court and sped off, puffing heavily on ways of Kazakh business. The American never actually bought—and that he pock- cigarettes. was making him look increasingly dis- eted the money. Eighteen months later, The original embezzlement charges pensable. Zhunussov was being paid Seidenfeld was sitting in prison in Siberia. had been dropped while Seidenfeld was $10,000 a month as a “consultancy” fee, How much does it cost in Kazakhstan in prison (the supposedly nonexistent and everyone knew it was a sinecure; he to have a man thrown in jail and have calling card equipment had been in the didn’t even attend board meetings. false charges brought against him? “A office all along), but a whole new set of In October 2002, Seidenfeld called Zhu- couple of hundred thousand dollars,” charges was quickly cooked up—this time nussov into his office for what would be a says one foreign investor who agreed to alleging that he had overpaid for the fateful meeting. The board had voted to talk to me anonymously in Almaty. “Then equipment and kept the difference, about end Zhunussov’s consultancy and Seiden- you pay more to keep the misery going as $26,000, for himself. As the trial proceed- feld was to deliver the message. Not only and when you need to.” ed, some prosecution witnesses seemed would Zhunussov not be paid his fee any to get the old and new charges confused. longer, Seidenfeld told him, but he would ale and downcast, Seidenfeld And then some of the key players on the lose access to company cars and telephones arrived in cuffs at the Almalin- prosecution side just didn’t show up. as soon as his contract expired at the end of sky regional court, on a stea- Zhunussov was subpoenaed, but he was the year. “You don’t know all the work I do PmyCK mid-June day this year. away running a marathon in China, the behind the scenes,” Zhunussov said. “You’ll Two prosecutors in bad suits sat behind a prosecutors said, and then later at his never be able to run this company without chipboard table. Seidenfeld’s ex-wife, holiday home in . me. You’re going to have major problems Devorah, took a place in the back of the As its case unraveled, the prosecution that you never expected.” courtroom, where she quietly recited switched tacks and began leveling new Roughly a year later, the revenge start- scripture and shot occasional glares at accusations. “What did you think of the ed. Zhunussov filed a complaint with the his fiancée, Natiya. The judge, Zaure company having two sets of books?” a board, claiming Seidenfeld had taken a Keikebasova, a fortyish woman in flow- financial police investigator asked the $43,000 “personal loan” from Arna and ing maroon robes, flashed a smile at the EBRD’s John Ward at one point. “As the had never repaid it. An internal investiga- Fast Company photographer. “Will I look company didn’t have two sets of books,” tion began immediately, and in February good in the magazine?” she inquired. And Ward replied, “I can’t see how I can feel 2004 a PriceWaterhouseCoopers audit with that the trial began. anything about it.” found the claim baseless. The prosecutors, led by a ruby-faced Seidenfeld rested his chin in his chest In the meantime, the Eagle Fund man with a large moustache, fidgeted and closed his eyes. It was a farce. decided to sell its stake in Arna. Zhu- when it came time to ask questions, and Outside, Devorah confronted Natiya nussov, who still owned 17%, had a stipu- at the end of each day they sauntered to a one day. “You witch! You homewrecker!” lation in his contract that if they ever shiny black Range Rover parked opposite she yelled, and hurled dog-eared photo- sold, he could buy their entire 83% at a graphs of herself with the children on the ONWARD AND UPWARD: The building boom steep discount—about the price of 66% of continues in Kazakhstan—as does the corruption. ground. She later testified with a scathing the entire company. Arna had been val- account of her ex-husband’s character, ued at $16 million total, so that meant he claiming he hadn’t paid child support and could own it outright for a mere $10.5 mil- had no interest in his family. I had been lion. Seidenfeld, though, had other ideas. approached by Devorah and an emissary He knew the company would command a from Zhunussov one night before the trial higher price on the open market, and he in the lobby of the Intercontinental Hotel, found British, Pakistani, and Russian and she had thrown the same photos at companies all willing to pay as much as my feet. “God is punishing him,” she told $25 million. Zhunussov threatened to me. “Mark! God wants you to wake up! We quash any deal, and eventually Eagle gave can only mourn the person he was.” Zhu- in, selling its majority stake to Zhunuss- nussov’s messenger smiled at me. “Look at ov on March 3, 2004, for $14.85 million. this woman,” he said. “She has been aban- The price was more than $4 million over doned. But Mr. Zhunussov is a family what he wanted to pay, and he held man. When the time is right to collect on Seidenfeld responsible. this guy she will get her money before Mr. Immediately after the sale, Seidenfeld Zhunussov takes anything.” I asked Devo- was fired. Two weeks later, the financial rah who had paid for her ticket here, and police alleged that he had billed the com- the man quickly interjected and said it

708 Fast company November 2007 was “an anonymous donor.” He ended on ate Majority Leader Harry Reid sent a let- an ominous note: “There are consequenc- ter to Ambassador Ordway urging him to For RIGHT HAND PAGE 1/3 es if you cross the wrong person here.” monitor the case closely. When President column ad In the end, Seidenfeld was helped by Nazarbayev visited the White House, with .25 pt rule p6 from 2nd column the U.S. government, but not in a way any- Berkley mentioned the case to him. one could have expected. His supporters On July 11, Judge Keikibasova returned had been stunned by the apparent reluc- a not guilty verdict. Natiya broke down in tance of U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan tears. The judge excoriated the prosecu- John Ordway to help an American citizen tion for 45 minutes, slamming the credi- in distress. The ambassador had met with bility of their witnesses and saying Seiden- the Kazakh General Prosecutor, but noth- feld was entitled to “moral compensation.” ing had come of it. Beyond that, he sent Seidenfeld credits Berkley with his Seidenfeld a few magazines and some acquittal. “The pressure must have trickled energy bars in prison. And with that, down,” he says. “The message came down apparently, his work was done: “We have from on high that this was to be a fair trial, done everything possible,” Ordway told to be done objectively and honestly with no Seidenfeld’s supporters in a letter. He games. At that point, law enforcement refused to give an interview with a report- agencies in Kazakhstan lost confidence in er from the Las Vegas Sun, saying he didn’t their ability to put away an innocent per- “do telephone interviews.” When Fast Com- son.” That Berkley was possibly also using pany offered to fly me to Astana to visit the case as leverage to benefit other, more him personally, he refused that, too. powerful constituents—the casinos—went A former state department consultant, without question. But if Seidenfeld had speaking on condition of anonymity, become a pawn, he didn’t seem to mind. hinted at why: The U.S. sees Kazakhstan In the courtroom, Natiya and Seiden- as a play-at-your-own-risk market. “I know feld ran to each other and embraced, a a ton of people who have made a ton of year and a half after leaving their Mos- money in Kazakhstan, but none of them cow apartment for Siberia. Seidenfeld’s have been straight arrows all the way thoughts quickly turned to the future. through,” she says. “It’s a wild west atmo- “I’m looking forward to getting back to sphere. You can’t come in with U.S. or business,” he said. U.K. rules and live for five or six years and make money and not understand how eidenfeld still had to face an business is done. It probably is an open- appeal by the prosecution: no and-shut case of injustice, but it’s not like double-jeopardy rule in Kazakh- this person didn’t know the risk. These Sstan. But a month after the origi- small-venture people, when they have nal trial, the court’s decision was upheld. success, are playing complicated games. Just as Seidenfeld was heaving a sigh of And when they run out of options, they relief, though, prosecutors dredged up say, ‘I am an American.’” yet another charge—that he had failed to Help came from Nevada, of all places. disclose a $1.2 million company debt to For three months in 2004, after being KazakhTelecom. There seemed to be no fired from Arna but before returning to escape. Seidenfeld decided that he had to Moscow to work for Golden Telecom, flee, so he packed himself into a Mercedes Seidenfeld had lived in Las Vegas. This at midnight TKDATE and drove to Kyr- was enough to make him a constituent of gyzstan, changing cars three times. From congresswoman Shelley Berkley, who Bishkek, he caught a last-minute flight to took up his cause and began pressuring Istanbul, then connected to New York’s Kazakh Secretary of State Kanat Saud- JFK. At 4 p.m. on a bright end-of-summer abayev. The Kazakhs were exploring the afternoon, he arrived back on American idea of getting into the casino business soil, slightly disheveled and with dark and had sought investment from Vegas. hemispheres under his eyes—but free. Berkley threatened to thwart any deal if Back in Almaty, Murat Zhunussov is her constituent didn’t get a fair trial. “A carrying on business as usual. He is try- poor adjudication would have provoca- ing to sell Arna (now renamed Ducat) for tive consequences for the future of invest- $100 million. Seidenfeld plans to return to ment in Kazakhstan,” Berkley told me. his job in Moscow at Golden Telecom. FC She scheduled a trip to Kazakhstan to coincide with the trial, and she and Sen- > Feedback: [email protected]