In a story that would be hard to believe if it were not true, an American businessman named Mark Seidenfeld continues to be held in an Almaty jail in pre-trial detention, without the possibility of bail, facing false criminal accusations by the new management of the Kazakh telecommunications company where he used to work.

That telecommunications company is OAO “Arna” doing business as “Ducat” throughout Kazakhstan. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ducat, who appears to be acting on the basis of a personal vendetta toward Mark Seidenfeld, is Murat Zhunussov.

The circumstances of Mark’s arrest and the falsity of the charges against Mark are described in detail at this site, in English and in Russian: http://savemark.wordpress.com/

Mark was arrested in Russia on December 7, 2005, and deported to Kazakhstan in November 2006. The accusations made against him that were the basis for his arrest and extradition have been dropped since they have been proven to be false during pre-trial investigation, even to the satisfaction of the Kazakh Prosecutor’s Office and Kazakh Financial Police who have been acting upon Ducat’s false accusations.

Now, an effort is underway at Ducat and the Kazakh Prosecutor’s Office and Kazakh Financial Police to develop new charges against Mark so that, apparently, their objective of securing a conviction on any conceivable accusation may be accomplished.

At the outset, in a meeting in Blagoveshchensk, Russia where Mark Seidenfeld was arrested on a warrant from Kazakhstan, a lawyer representing OAO Arna, communicated that this matter will only be closed when a cash ransom of between $2.5 and $5 million is paid on behalf of Mark Seidenfeld. This sum approximates the higher price Mr. Zhunussov paid to acquire control of OAO Arna since Mark Seidenfeld had located a competing bid for the EBRD’s stake in OAO Arna.

The circumstances surrounding Mark Seidenfeld’s arrest and continued detention on false charges should be of concern to all foreign businessmen in Kazakhstan.

If you would like additional information about this matter, please contact me, Derek Bloom, at bloomda@gmail.com. I was General Counsel of Golden Telecom when Mark Seidenfeld was arrested while traveling on Golden Telecom business. I feel compelled to speak up on behalf of my former colleague who is being victimized and is quite defenseless in this situation, held without bail in an Almaty jail facing false charges.