Kazakhstan on July 16 announced a settlement with Moldovan businessman Anatol Stati in a legal dispute over energy-related assets that was fought for more than a decade.

The specific terms and conditions of the agreement remain confidential.

Seventy-one-year-old Anatol Stati, his son Gabriel, 47, and their family-run firms, Terra Raf Trans Trading and Ascom Group, engaged in multiple episodes of international arbitration with the Kazakh authorities. The Statis claimed that they faced severe harassment from the Kazakh government after investing in the country’s oil and gas sector. They alleged that the state aimed to pressure them into selling their investments at a low price. The Statis refused to sell to the government and found another buyer, but the deal collapsed when the Kazakh state seized the oil fields.

In 2013, Anatol and Gabriel Stati and their companies were awarded around $500mn in international arbitration against the Kazakh government.

The government rejected the Stati accusations and refused to pay. In October 2017, the government filed a civil racketeering lawsuit against the Statis and their firms in a US federal court. In December 2017, the Bank of New York Mellon froze $22.6bn in Kazakhstan's National Fund assets for over a month.

Stati warned in January 2018 that he would sell off a $5.2bn stake in Kazakhstan's Kashagan oil field in the event that Kazakh authorities failed to comply with the arbitration award. Investigative journalism group RISE Moldova, in a 2016 report, accused the Statis of creating multiple offshore firms for concealing and redirecting their assets along with engaging in multiple dubious deals.

Daniel Chapman, CEO of Argentem Creek Partners, commented on the Kazakh government's announcement of a settlement: “We support the framework agreement and commend President [Kassym-Jomart] Tokayev’s decision to create a Fair Kazakhstan as part of his admirable reforms. With the settlement of this dispute, Kazakhstan is honouring international treaty obligations and thereby opening its doors for increased investment and heightening its economic growth potential. We welcome this new era for Kazakhstan.”

Minister of Justice of Kazakhstan Azamat Yeskarayev said: “This agreement was made in view of the public interest and does not involve spending of budgetary funds. We believe that this move will have a positive effect on attracting new investments in our country and on growth of the economy.”