On July 31, 2023, Judge John G. Költle, Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, reportedly ruled in favor of BTA Bank JSC against Triadou SPV SA for over $193 million. 

The court’s decision follows a December 2022 jury verdict that held Triadou liable for embezzlement and illicit enrichment. 

“In addition to the jury’s verdict, the judge, after studying the case file, detailed the rationale for his decision on 66 pages. As a result, the court recognized BTA’s claim against Triadou for trust property and any funds that could be received as a result of the use of BTA funds, as well as satisfied the requirements of BTA in relation to a number of assets of Triadou . 

It is noted that the court recognized the defendant Triadou SPV as a shell company created and controlled by the son-in-law of Mukhtar Ablyazov – Ilyas Khrapunov, which “received more than $ 70 million in money stolen from BTA, which the company invested in real estate in New York and other places in the United States “. 

“As detailed in the court’s findings: ‘Evidence presented in court shows that funds invested on behalf of Triadou in the United States are directly linked to $115.3 million stolen from BTA by Ablyazov through another shell company ,'” the representatives said. “BTA Bank” 

According to BTA Bank, Ilyas Khrapunov claimed to have sold the parent company Triadou SPV to a third party, Philipp Glatz. However, the court concluded that: ” Glatz’s acquisition of Triadou SPV was fictitious , paid for by Ilyas himself, and that Ilyas Khrapunov continued to control Triadou SPV even after the lawsuit began.” 

“The court and jury heard witnesses, including Ablyazov and his accomplices, as well as expert witnesses, who explained the structure of a major fraud committed against BTA. 

The court ruled that the evidence presented by BTA that Ablyazov used BTA’s Corporate Business Department (UKB-6) to steal billions of dollars through “fake loans to offshore companies” is credible and complete , the bank said. 

It is also emphasized that the court came to the following conclusion: 

“Offshore companies that were “clients of the Bank” (UKB-6) were owned or controlled by Ablyazov, and the “loans” issued by him had no economic content. Instead of being transactions between independent parties, the “loans” with the assistance of UKB-6 were intended to conceal the misappropriation of funds by Ablyazov from BTA Bank . 

Ultimately, the court dismissed the testimony of Ablyazov’s accomplices and their alternative explanation of the source of the funds as “not credible.” 

“We were able to prove to the New York judge and jury that Mukhtar Ablyazov defrauded BTA Bank of billions of dollars and laundered stolen money in the United States. This case was an important step in BTA Bank’s efforts to restore justice and was crucial in bringing to justice responsibility of Ablyazov and his accomplices. 

We are grateful for the careful consideration of the evidence by the jury and the United States District Court,” said Matthew L. Schwartz, Managing Partner of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP and BTA Representative. 

Other legal cases of Mukhtar Ablyazov 

Recall that criminal cases have been opened against Ablyazov in Kazakhstan and a number of other countries. 

In December 2020, Mukhtar Ablyazov was sentenced in absentia in Russia to 15 years in prison in the BTA Bank case. A Russian court found that in three years – from 2006 to 2009 – Ablyazov, together with his subordinates, stole 58 billion rubles, that is, 330.3 billion tenge, from the bank. 

And in Kazakhstan, a banker was sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison – in 2017 he was found guilty of embezzlement. 

In May this year, it was reported that the French Court of Cassation overturned the decision of the Court of Appeal to terminate the trial against Mukhtar Ablyazov in the case of breach of trust and money laundering. 

Expulsion of Ablyazov from France 

In early December 2022, it became known that Mukhtar Ablyazov was deprived of his refugee status in France. At the same time, the French media wrote that Ablyazov could face extradition to Kazakhstan. However, in January 2023, the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan explained that at the moment Kazakhstan does not have an extradition agreement with France . 

In early July, Ablyazov announced that he had received an order from the executive police that he must leave France, where he has been living for several years, within 30 days and go to a country that is ready to accept him. 

A few days later, BTA Bank, citing an unnamed source, reported that Ablyazov had indeed received a document obliging him to leave French territory within 30 days. 

Meanwhile, the Prosecutor General’s Office stated that they did not have reliable information that could confirm or refute the information about the expulsion of Ablyazov from France. It was emphasized that the issues of expulsion of foreign citizens belong to the internal affairs of the country. 

Return of Uncle Ablyazov to Kazakhstan 

We also recall that on July 25 , an accomplice and uncle of Mukhtar Ablyazov, Kuanysh Nurgazin, who voluntarily returned to Kazakhstan, was detained at the Almaty airport . 

“Nurgazin is the nominal director of the BSC LLP controlled by Ablyazov. Through illegal lending to this company, Ablyazov and his accomplices stole the funds of BTA Bank on an especially large scale,” the Prosecutor General’s Office reported at the time. 

For 12 years he hid in Lithuania, where he received refugee status. 

Later, Kuanysh Nurgazin told why he decided to return to his homeland . 

According to Nurgazin, at that time he did not even suspect about Ablyazov’s machinations – he found out about it only after law enforcement agencies began to identify large financial thefts in the bank. 

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In Kazakhstan, Ablyazov was sentenced in absentia to life in prison for murder, another sentence related to the creation of a criminal community, embezzlement and money laundering. In Russia, the ex-banker was sentenced to 15 years for embezzlement of almost 60 billion rubles.

The French authorities demanded that the former head of the Kazakh BTA Bank, Mukhtar Ablyazov, leave the country within 30 days. He announced this on his Facebook page (owned by Meta, whose activities in Russia are recognized as extremist and banned). Ablyazov’s extradition is simultaneously sought by Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine. The former banker has been in Europe for more than ten years.

Former head of Kazakhstan’s BTA Bank, Mukhtar Ablyazov has received an order from the French authorities to leave the country within 30 days. He announced this on his Facebook page.

“I was given 30 days to leave France. I am suing,” Ablyazov wrote.

The ex-banker also posted a video message on his page in which he stated that he had previously received political asylum in France (Le Figaro wrote last December that the refugee status was revoked by the decision of the French court), and now he has neither a visa nor a passport. In addition, Ablyazov said that court hearings against him in France would resume in the near future, and for this time he should not leave the country. The proceedings in a French court on episodes of his abuse of power and money laundering decided to resume at the end of May.

Ablyazov left Kazakhstan in 2009 after his former head of BTA Bank was declared bankrupt and nationalized. First, in Kazakhstan, the ex-banker was sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison on the case of creating a criminal community, embezzlement of other people’s property, legalization of proceeds from crime, abuse of power, and was given a life sentence on charges of murdering the former head of the bank, Yerzhan Tatishev .

At the end of 2020, the Tagansky Court of Moscow sentenced Ablyazov in absentia to 15 years in prison in the case of embezzlement of almost 60 billion rubles. In Ukraine, the ex-banker is accused of embezzling $400 million. Kazakhstan does not have an extradition agreement with France, while at the same time, the French side has such an agreement with Russia and Ukraine.

Back in 2015, the then Prime Minister of France, Manuel Valls, signed the decision to extradite Ablyazov to Russia, but later the State Council of the country cancelled this decision, seeing in the request “the pursuit of political goals.” The Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia then stated that Paris violated the “principle of the inevitability of punishment for crimes committed.”

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Tatishev, an accomplished entrepreneur, philanthropist, and passionate advocate for education, brings to his new role at AMU a wealth of experience and a visionary approach. As a key driver of growth and transformation in various industries across the CIS region, Tatishev’s leadership at AMU is set to bring a new era of success for the institution.

AMU, first established in 1988 as the pioneer business school in the Republic of Kazakhstan, has long been a beacon of excellence in business education in the country. Tatishev’s chairmanship is expected to enhance AMU’s commitment to fostering an environment of innovation and strategic leadership.

Yerkin Tatishev, the Chairman and Founder of Kusto Group and an accomplished entrepreneur, philanthropist and passionate advocate for education, is a key driver of growth and transformation in various industries across the CIS region.

Throughout his career, Tatishev has stressed the importance of high-quality education, not just in his native Kazakhstan, but globally. In the past, he criticized Kazakhstan’s poor performance in the PISA study, a global test that measures students’ performances in science, reading, and math across 79 countries. Tatishev has called for a revamp and modernization of the country’s educational programs to compete globally.

Tatishev’s commitment to education is also evidenced in his initiative, the High Tech Academy, inaugurated in 2017. Part of Kusto Group’s Koktobe City project, High Tech Academy implements ground-breaking educational principles such as project-based learning and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), aimed at preparing students for real-world challenges.

The Kusto Group founder has repeatedly expressed the belief that focusing on real-life problem-solving and emotional understanding can significantly improve Kazakhstan’s education system. Research indicates that SEL not only enhances academic learning outcomes but also boosts future income levels, improves career readiness, reduces emotional distress among students, and even decreases incidents of bullying and behavioral problems.

Tatishev, expressing gratitude for his appointment at AMU, said, “I am deeply honored to assume the chairmanship of Almaty Management University, an institution that has long been at the forefront of business education. I look forward to working closely with the esteemed faculty and dedicated staff to strengthen AMU’s position as a center of excellence, producing highly skilled professionals equipped to navigate the challenges of the global business landscape.”

In his new role, Tatishev plans to enhance AMU’s academic programs, foster international collaborations, and promote entrepreneurship among students. His extensive network and industry connections are also expected to attract global experts, renowned faculty, and prominent guest speakers to AMU. Tatishev’s appointment is anticipated to reinforce AMU’s commitment to providing a world-class business education that empowers students with the skills and knowledge necessary for success in a rapidly evolving global economy. As the university builds upon its illustrious history, it aims to set new standards for business education in Kazakhstan and the wider CIS region.

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Mukhtar Ablyazov, a notorious Kazakhstan fraudster, was convicted of organizing the 2004 murder of Erzhan Tatishev, He was involved in investigations in four jurisdictions, namely Russia, Kazakhstan, United Kingdom, and the United States and was found guilty by courts of his peers. His political asylum claims were dismissed by the French court and so Ablyazov and his gang are now facing judgement. At the end of day, Mukhtar Ablyazov is merely a power-hungry criminal. Not more, not less. His case showed that the legal system does work, it puts the bad guys behind bars.

Ablyazov was found guilty of embezzlement and money laundering in the U.S. Court for $218 million against BTA Bank in December 2022. Triadou SPV S.A. is a shell company created and controlled by Ablyazov’s son-in-law Ilyas Khrapunov. Triadou received more than $70 million in money stolen from BTA, which it invested in real estate in New York City and elsewhere in the US.

“Mukhtar Ablyazov was found guilty of embezzlement and money laundering in the U.S. Court for $218 million against BTA Bank in December 2022.”

For the charges against BTA bank, Ablyazov has received various court sentences worldwide which led him to live on the run. In 2009, Ablyazov fled to London, where he lived with his wife and four children in luxurious Carlton House, in the Bishops Avenue area of north London. In 2011, the UK Home Office granted Ablyazov asylum amid claims that he had been the target of assassination attempts.

In February 2012, the UK High Court ruled that Ablyazov had committed serious and repeated breaches and sentenced him in absentia to 22 months in prison for contempt. However he managed to leave the UK to France two days earlier before the sentence was announced. In 2015, then French Prime Minister Mauel Valls signed off on his extradition, but France’s Asylum Court overruled it. France granted political asylum to Ablyazov in September 2020. But in December 2022, the National Court of Asylum (CNDA) of France rejected Ablyazov’s application for political asylum in France. This left the convicted criminal a few choices. Surrender for extradition, flee France to the usual crime sanctuaries in UAE or South America, or cut a deal surrendering to multiple counts of his corruption charges.

Ablyazov is also wanted in Russia and Ukraine, for suspicion of embezzling some $5-billion. The Moscow Tagansky District Court sentenced Ablyazov to 15 years in prison in absentia on embezzlement charges on December 29, 2020 after finding him guilty in a criminal case regarding the alleged embezzlement of 58 billion rubles ($790 million) between 2006 and 2009.

Apart of the embezzlement charges, Ablyazov has also been convicted in absentia on a murder charge and sentenced to life in prison by the court in Kazakhstan’s southern city of Taraz on Nov. 27, 2018. The court handed the sentence after finding Ablyazov guilty of organizing the 2004 murder of Erzhan Tatishev, the head of TuranAlem bank — which was later renamed BTA. After Tatishev’s death, which was ruled an accident at the time, Ablyazov became the bank’s chief.

Despite living abroad, Ablyazov claimed in an interview with Reuters that he was the leader of opposition and protests in Kazakhstan. He also urged Western states to interfere in the events in Kazakhstan to prevent the republic’s rapprochement with Russia. It is rather telling that none of the claims Ablyazov penned out.

Kazakhstan Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vasilenko said that the Ablyazov case was an extraordinary issue related to law enforcement and the court system, not only in Kazakhstan, but also in Europe and the United States. Vasilenko added that trials related to Ablyazov would be held in the United States, Britain, and France with the participation of Kazakhstan’s Justice Ministry, the Almaty mayor’s office, and BTA bank.

Vasilenko confirmed that the meeting between Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on November 29, 2022 did not discuss the case of Ablyazov. His statement debunked the previous report of French newspaper Le Figaro that the two presidents talked about the case during the meeting.

The Kazakh government and parliament have done various efforts to bring Ablyazov back to the country. Mazhilis, the lower house of Kazakhstan’s parliament has approved the interstate agreement between France and Kazakhstan on criminal matters. However, the document will not be able to help Kazakhstani authorities make Ablyazov come back to the country due to an absence of arrangements for the mutual extradition of criminals with France, said Prosecutor General Aset Chindaliyev.

The agreement requires Kazakhstan and France to follow the rules of mutual legal assistance in anything linked to criminal matters. It is expected that by sticking to this practice, the two sides will be more effective in crime prevention.

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