Kazakhstan has arrested the former chief of its nuclear power agency on corruption charges, just days after he was dismissed from the post, the Central Asian state's KNB security service said Monday.
"The ex-head of Kazatomprom is suspected of embezzling government funds and is currently under arrest," KNB spokesman Kenzhebulat Beknazarov told AFP.
The spokesman did not give details on the alleged crimes of the ex-official, Mukhtar Dzhakishev.
The announcement came days after Dzhakishev was sacked and replaced by former Kazakh trade and industry minister Vladimir Shkolnik, seen as a member of President Nursultan Nazarbayev's inner circle.
The arrest marks a swift and spectacular fall from grace by Dzhakishev, whose position as head of the powerful government nuclear firm placed him high in the political elite.
Kazakhstan, bordering Russia and China, holds almost 20%of the world's uranium reserves and aims to be the number one producer by 2010, overtaking Australia and Canada.
The country is keen to be seen as a global player in issues of nuclear security. Last year, Kazakhstan mined around 8,500 metric tons of uranium and plans to extract 11,900 tons in 2009, according to Kazatomprom.