^{Nursultan Nazarbayev with Tony Blair in 2012}

The deal with Omnia was agreed in February this year and work on the project
is thought to have begun in March. The legal review is ongoing although
Omnia is refusing to comment, citing client confidentiality.

There is no evidence that Tony Blair had any influence in helping his wife to
win the lucrative contract. But critics of the former prime minister will
inevitably be concerned over his apparent influence in Kazakhstan, an oil
and gas-rich state larger than Western Europe.

Mr Blair has always insisted that his various advisory roles – paid and unpaid
– are kept strictly separate from any other commercial deals in which he is
involved. He has vehemently denied any accusations of a conflict of interest
in any of the countries in which he works.

Mrs Blair’s work in Kazakhstan follows in her husband’s footsteps. In late
2011, Mr Blair began advising Nursultan Nazarbayev, the country’s
all-powerful president who has ruled Kazakhstan ever since its independence
from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Mr Blair, through his private consultancy Tony Blair Associates, acts as
adviser to the presidential office and other ministries on improving
Kazakhstan’s governance.

The deal between Kazakhstan and Tony Blair Associates is reported to be worth
as much as £7 million a year.

Mr Blair has been criticised for his close relationship with Mr Nazarbayev,
who has been accused of human rights abuses including the shooting dead of
15 civilians in a crackdown on protests in December 2011, a few months after
Mr Blair began advising the Kazakhstan government. Mr Blair denies making
any personal profit from the advisory role.

Omnia Strategy’s lucrative deal is also likely to attract criticism. Mrs
Blair, an eminent QC, remains best known in the legal world as an ardent
defender of civil liberties and human rights. Kazakhstan has been accused of
suppressing dissent.

Human Rights Watch, in its latest report on the country, concluded:
“Kazakhstan’s poor human rights record continued to deteriorate in 2013,
with authorities cracking down on free speech and dissent through misuse of
overly broad laws.”

The Sunday Telegraph understands Omnia has negotiated the work with the Kazakh
Ministry of Justice, whose fee will be ultimately picked up by the Kazakh
taxpayer. It is not clear if the work was put out to tender and Omnia has
refused to comment on this.

Omnia Strategy, which is based in an anonymous office block overlooking Hyde
Park in central London, is advising Kazakhstan on the legal obligations of
bilateral investment treaties.

The legal firm describes itself on its website as a “pioneering international
law firm that provides strategic counsel to governments, corporate and
private clients”.

The source said that Omnia is not paid directly by the Kazakh government but
through a consultancy, based in Astana but which has offices in London and
which is acting as a third-party agent in the agreement. It is understood
Kazakhstan is also paying all Omnia’s expenses including accommodation,
travel and translation costs in producing a series of reviews and reports.

Mrs Blair, Omnia’s chairman, is, according to the source, being described as
“primary counsel” in the work while Omnia’s managing director, Julia Yun
Hulme, is the point of contact for day-to-day running of the contract. At
least two other lawyers working for Omnia are involved in the legal review.

The connections between the Blairs and the Kazakh government were cemented
earlier this summer when both Omnia Strategy and Tony Blair Associates were
listed as “key participants” in a Kazakhstan “investment roadshow” which
took place in London over two days in June.

While Mr Blair’s commercial success since leaving Downing Street in 2007 has
been widely reported – although he denies his fortune is anywhere close to
the £100 million that has been suggested – Mrs Blair has quietly achieved
her own commercial successes.

Omnia Strategy has also acted for the Albania government in an oil dispute in
a case which earned Omnia as much as £300,000 in legal fees last year. This
year, Mr Blair became an adviser to the newly elected left-wing government
in Albania. There is no suggestion of a link between the two.

Mr and Mrs Blair between them own a property empire that includes a mansion in
Buckinghamshire and six houses in London. Reports have suggested that the
portfolio is worth in the region of £25 million.

Last week, Omnia refused to comment on its work in Kazakhstan.