Kazakhstan has experienced significant economic growth in recent years due to its large oil deposits, and the political elite have been successful in virtually monopolising the benefits of this boom. There are massive possibilities for corruption on a grand scale in Kazakhstan's environment of intra-elite allocation of benefits connected to oil production. Corruption in Kazakhstan is systemic, even within the country's anti-corruption agency, and no public office is free from executive interference. Long delays, unwieldy bureaucracy, weak business law, short deadlines, employee discontent and the absence of explanatory information all breed corruption.

Positive developments in relation to corruption and investment:

• Foreign direct investment flows have remained strong over the recent years, highlighting the fact that Kazakhstan is still an attractive investment country, despite the corruption companies might face.
• The conditions for developing transparent relations between companies and the government are slowly improving in Kazakhstan. Public officials are trained in anti-corruption, and a code of ethics exists for public officials. Furthermore, in the early 2009, an anti-corruption policy was adopted by the Kazakhstani government, which includes salary increases of 15% for public servants.
• The government has held competitive examinations for lower and middle-ranking officials that are more frequently in contact with companies, in order to encourage transparency.
• In the recent years, a number of both junior and senior civil servants has been arrested and, in some instances, convicted, including ministers and mayors.
• The country's anti-corruption agency, the Financial Police, has published a new Strategic Anti-Corruption Plan 2010-2014 (in Russian) intended to reduce corruption at all levels in Kazakhstan.  

Risks of corruption:

• Corruption is highest in the judiciary, police, customs, the sphere of property rights, land registration, and within construction projects, according to recent sources.
• Exporting and importing in Kazakhstan requires considerable time and paperwork to clear goods at the border, and the process is plagued by corruption and bribery.
• The most widespread form of corruption in Kazakhstan is administrative, including routine extortion and shadow control of companies by officials, which is believed to have fuelled inflation.
• The President has denounced corruption in the lower levels of government administration and has instructed lower level officials not to obstruct the operations of SMEs, but little in this regard has translated into practice.