Sir Mark Thatcher used his mother’s name to help secure a deal worth up to £300,000 a year promoting an oil company connected to the despotic regime in the central Asian country of Kazakhstan.
In return for the cash, Thatcher was expected to use his influence to enhance the image of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the country’s president, according to one of those involved in the agreement.
Thatcher met the Kazakh president in May 2004 bearing a letter from Baroness Thatcher which expressed support for his government. The next day the son of the former prime minister signed a deal with a company, Ar-Oil, which was owned by a member of Nazarbayev’s extended family.
According to a source involved in the deal, it was understood that in return for quarterly payments of $150,000 (£75,000), Thatcher would use his influence and family name to promote not only Ar-Oil’s interests abroad, but those of the Kazakh regime in general.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4493287.eceA new Equatorial Guniea-style coup d'etat attempt in the offing?