RFE
02 Dec 2020, 16:45 GMT+10
A court in the United Kingdom has frozen up to $5 billion in assets tied to the alleged theft of billions of dollars from Kazakhstan's BTA Bank.
According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on December 1, the Enterprise and Property Courts of England and Wales on November 13 ordered the freezing of stakes in luxurious inns, money in financial institution accounts in six countries, and a Burger King franchise in Kazakhstan.
The report says the ruling was based mostly on a petition from state-owned BTA Bank, which has alleged for years that its former chairman, Mukhtar Ablyazov, an outspoken critic of the Kazakh government, stole more than $6 billion.
BTA's petition accuses one of Kazakhstan's richest businessmen and investors, Bolat Otemuratov, of assisting Ablyazov in hiding the money stolen from the bank.
Otemuratov, who has been known for many years as a close ally of former President Nursultan Nazarbaev and his family, denied the accusations via spokeswoman Olga Abdrakhmanova, who told the WSJ that the allegations were 'based mostly on false paperwork offered by BTA Financial institution...and its legal professionals.'
BTA also accuses former Kazakh official Viktor Khrapunov, who currently resides in Switzerland, and members of his family of assisting Ablyazov in stealing the money.
Mukhtar Ablyazov (left) and Ilyas Khrapunov deny the charges.
Khrapunov's stepson Ilyas is married to Ablyazov's daughter Madina.
Before the WSJ report, Ablyazov wrote about the accusations put forward against Otemuratov on Facebook, calling him 'Nazarbaev's wallet,' who, on behalf of the former president, holds assets of Nazarbaev that have a worth of some $5 billion.
According to Ablyazov, accusations against Otemuratov are politically motivated and an attempt to 'destroy him physically and financially' and remove him from Kazakhstan's political scene.
Ablyazov also alleged that the powerful chairman of the Kazakh Committee for National Security (KNB), Karim Masimov, is behind BTA's latest move, through which he says Masimov wants to discredit Nazarbaev and deprive him of the assets.
Otemuratov's Verny Capital company has issued a statement saying that Otemuratov was in Nur-Sultan and continued to work as usual, focusing on social activities and admitting that he and several other individuals were defendants in a case at a British court.
'The lawsuit against Mukhtar Ablyazov and Ilyas Khrapunov was initially filed by BTA Bank in 2015. In November 2020, as the list of individuals accused by the bank widened, Bolat Otemuratov and several individuals from his business structures were added to the list of defendants,' the company's statement said.
Ilyas Khrapunov said in a press release offered by his lawyer that the accusations against him were 'ridiculous and fictional' and based mostly on 'fabricated paperwork.' He also stressed that BTA was bringing the case toward Otemuratov to take him out as a political opponent.
Nazarbaev, 80, who stepped down in March 2019 after almost 30 years running the oil-rich Central Asian country, continues to play a key role in its internal and foreign policies as the leader of the ruling Nur-Otan party, lifetime chairman of the powerful Security Council, and enjoys almost limitless powers as 'elbasy,' or 'leader of the nation.'
For many years, Otemuratov and his business structures have been associated with Nazarbaev and members of his family.
Otemuratov spokeswoman Abdrakhmanova told the WSJ that Kazakh media reports alleging the tycoon's association with Nazarbaev have been exaggerated, adding that Otemuratov's fortune was $3.2 billion.
According to Forbes, Otemuratov is the world's 764th-richest person.
Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Republished with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036
Get a daily dose of Liverpool Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Liverpool Star.
More InformationThe Israeli Navy has intercepted a ship carrying humanitarian aid and a number of activists including Greta Thunberg, Rima Hassan,...
TOKYO, Japan: Japan's demographic challenges intensified in 2024, with the number of births falling to another all-time low—underscoring...
BEIJING, China: A little-known office inside China's Ministry of Commerce has become a powerful chokepoint in the global auto and tech...
OMAHA BEACH, France: Eighty-one years after the D-Day landings, a small group of World War II veterans has returned to the beaches...
BEIJING, China: The public security bureau in Guangzhou, a city in China, has announced a secret reward for more than 20 people it...
THE HAGUE - The International Criminal Court (ICC) has strongly condemned the United States for imposing sanctions on four of its judges,...
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: Tesla saw a sharp decline in sales across several major European markets in May, marking its fifth consecutive...
OMAHA BEACH, France: Eighty-one years after the D-Day landings, a small group of World War II veterans has returned to the beaches...
LONDON, UK: As of this month, it's officially illegal to buy disposable vapes anywhere in the United Kingdom. The new ban, aimed...
LONDON, UK: As global tensions rise and Europe's defense posture shifts, the UK is ramping up its military readiness with a 1.5 billion...
(250608) -- LONDON, June 8, 2025 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng holds talks with British Chancellor of the Exchequer...
In 72 educational institutions in the country there are no white British pupils at all, The Telegraph has reported White British...