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Kazakhstan Denies Connection to Nuclear Network
Kazakhstan has denied any connection to a company suspected of being involved in the international nuclear network revealed by the reported confession of top Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 17). The company, United Arab Emirates-based SMB Computers, was used as a front for black-market nuclear technology deals by principal owner Buhary Syed Abu Tahir, according to U.S. President George W. Bush. SMB Computers was reported to have offices in both the Kazakh city of Almaty and the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Kazakh National Security Committee spokesman Mukhtar Anarbekov, however, said the company was not officially registered in Almaty. “As a result of specially conducted investigations, it became clear that neither the company, nor its branches, have ever been registered in the Republic of Kazakhstan,” Anarbekov said. “That company is also not on the list of companies licensed for activities in the sector of nuclear power,” he added. In addition, the Kazakh State Atomic Energy Committee said it has never conducted business with SMB Computers, nor has it ever granted the company a license to export nuclear materials, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported (Sergei Danilochkin, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, March 2).
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