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The wife of an exiled Kazakh oligarch accused of embezzling millions of dollars from his former bank thanked Italy on Tuesday for helping her to overturn a travel ban, months after she was expelled from Rome. Alma Shalabayeva, the wife of exiled oligarch Mukhtar Ablyazov, thanked Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino in a phone call for helping to persuade the Kazakh government to allow her return to Europe, the Italian foreign ministry said. The ministry said in a statement it would follow the case closely and that the Italian charge d'affaires in Kazakhstan was helping Shalabayeva with the formalities of obtaining a visa to return to Europe. Critics including the Italian press, politicians and the Ablyazov family's lawyers accused the government of ignoring normal procedures to please Kazakhstan, a major oil producer.More...