Ablyazov Mukhtar

Ablyazov Mukhtar Kabulovich was born on May 16, 1963 in the village of Vannovka, South Kazakhstan region. Family: Wife – Alma Shalabaeva. Children: Madina, Madiyar, Alua and Aldiyar. In 1986, Mukhtar Ablyazov graduated from the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute as a theoretical physicist. He worked as an engineer, junior researcher, engineer at the Kazakh State University (KazGU). In 1990 he entered the National Research Nuclear University "MEPhI" (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute) graduate school and began his career in business. 1991-1993 – Director of MP "Madina". 1992 – President of Astana-Holding. 1993-1997 – President of the holding company "Astana-Holding". Since June 1997 – President of the national company "KEGOC". 1998-1999 – Minister of Energy, Industry and Trade of Kazakhstan.

In 1998, Nursultan Nazarbayev "rejuvenated" the composition of the government. Oraz Zhandosov was appointed the First Deputy Prime Minister, Sauat Mynbayev – Minister of Finance, Berik Imashev – Chairman of the Small Business Support Agency and Assistant to the President, Nurlan Kapparov – Head of KazakhOil. Mukhtar Ablyazov became Minister of Energy. In May 1999, the president reprimanded Ablyazov for weakening control over the activities of the ministry and other subordinate bodies and repeated cases of untimely execution of the President's instructions. In August 1999, President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, received an appeal signed by Deputy Chairman of the Board of RAO "EES" Valentin Zavadnikov. The Russian official said that negotiations on the creation of a joint venture on the basis of the Ekibastuz GRES-2 and the settlement of the problem of Kazakhstan's debts to the Russian Federation are being artificially delayed due to the fault of Kazakh officials. Zavadnikov also said that these officials have a personal interest in the solution of the debt problem that is necessary for them. Negotiations between Kazakhstan and Russia on the Ekibastuzskaya GRES-2 began after the visit to Kazakhstan of the head of RAO "EES" of Russia" Anatoly Chubais. His arrival was supposed to dot the "i" in the problem of debts that the Republic of Kazakhstan accumulated from 1994 to 1996 for the purchase of Russian electricity. During the negotiations, the Kazakh side recognized the amount of $239 million as a debt. The required amount was not within the budget, and the parties agreed that the Russians would receive a share in the new energy joint venture. It was supposed to include the Ekibastuz GRES-2 and the power transmission line VEL-500 Ekibastuz-Omsk. It was also assumed that the joint venture would be able to export Kazakh electricity to Russia in the future. The first protocol on the creation of a joint venture was signed in November 1998 by Anatoly Chubais and the Minister of Energy, Industry and Trade of Kazakhstan, Mukhtar Ablyazov. According to the document, the share of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the enterprise was at least 25% + 1 share. All that was left to do was to appraise all the property of the enterprise. In a letter to Nazarbayev, Zavadnikov said that once he received an offer from "Mr. A. K. Nauryzbaev, expressed by him on behalf of the Minister of Energy, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Mr. M. K. Ablyazov." It was put forward as a condition for the signing of a protocol between the Chairman of the Board of RAO "EES" of Russia" A. B. Chubais and Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Tokayev during the latter's visit to Moscow. The mechanism for realizing this interest was to underestimate the estimated value of the property of Ekibastuz GRES-2 and the VL-500 high-voltage line and contribute it to the authorized capital of the joint venture in exchange for a share in it of some additional founders-debtors of RAO "EES" in the amount of receivables in the amount of about $ 130 million. At the same time, the implementation of this proposal caused damage to the budget of Kazakhstan as a whole, in the amount of $280 to $430 million. In the fall of 1999, Ablyazov was removed from the negotiation process and left the minister's chair. He returned to business. In October, a criminal case was initiated against Ablyazov under Art. 307 part 3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Abuse of official powers". On December 26, 1999, the second criminal case under Art. 177, part 3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Fraud", June 26, 2000 – the third, under Art. 325, part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Forgery, production or sale of forged documents, stamps, seals, letterheads, state awards by a group of persons by prior agreement." In November 2001, Galymzhan Zhakiyanov, Tolen Tokhtasynov, Mukhtar Ablyazov, Bulat Abilov , Yerzhan Tatishev, Nurzhan Subkhanberdin, Oraz Zhandosov, Zhannat Yertlesova, Kairat Kelimbetov and Alikhan Baimenov announced the creation of the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan social movement. A little later, another criminal case appeared against Ablyazov – for illegal business activities. In July 2002, the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan sentenced former Energy Minister, Mukhtar Ablyazov, to six years in a penal colony and banned him from holding public office for two years. The court found that Ablyazov caused damage to the state enterprise OJSC KEGOC in the amount of 557 million 665 thousand tenge. In April 2003, Mukhtar Ablyazov filed a petition addressed to Nursultan Nazarbayev for pardon. On May 13, the President of Kazakhstan signed a decree pardoning a number of persons who filed a corresponding petition, among whom Mukhtar Ablyazov was named. Once free, Ablyazov hoped to return to business, namely, to head BTA Bank.

Back in February 1997, the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan adopted a resolution "On the issue of state short-term treasury obligations". This document was aimed at improving the liquidity of the newly formed CJSC "Bank TuranAlem" and provided for the issue by the Ministry of Finance of state short-term treasury bills with their subsequent transfer to the bank. On June 5, 1997, by the order of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the State Rehabilitation Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan was instructed to buy out part of the loan debt of "Bank TuranAlem" in the amount of $61 million, due to which the financial position and performance of the bank improved. A decision was made to privatize the bank. On March 23, 1998, the auction was held, the winner of which and the buyer of 100% of the shares of Bank TuranAlem was the consortium "Kazakhstani investors". According to available information, the consortium was created specifically to participate in the tender, and Mukhtar Ablyazov, who at that time was officially the President of Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company JSC (KEGOC), became its unspoken participant and leader. After the privatization of the bank, Yerzhan Tatishev took over as chairman of the board. In 2004, Yerzhan Tatishev died while hunting. Initially, the main version of the investigation was an accident. After Tatishev's death, Mukhtar Ablyazov regained control of the bank. However, in 2009, the government of Kazakhstan nationalized BTA Bank due to its near-bankruptcy. At that time, BTA accounted for about 25% of the country's entire payment system. It turned out that Mukhtar Ablyazov and his accomplices committed multi-billion dollar embezzlement. All fraudulent schemes were built through front and offshore companies. After the nationalization of the bank, Mukhtar Ablyazov managed to leave Kazakhstan and received political asylum in the UK in 2010. In June 2017, Mukhtar Ablyazov was sentenced in absentia to 20 years in Kazakhstan in the case of embezzlement at BTA Bank. Kazakhstan accused the banker of stealing and withdrawing $7.5 billion from the country. At the same time, during a special operation in Almaty, Kazakh special services detained Muratkhan Tokmadi, Adviser to the General Director of LLP KazStroySteklo . He was suspected of committing a criminal offense under paragraph 2, part 3 of criminal article 194 "Extortion in order to obtain property on a large scale". In October 2017, by the verdict of the Almaly District Court of Almaty, Muratkhan Tokmadi was sentenced under Art. 194 h. 3 p. 2, art. 287 part 4 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan to three years in prison with serving a sentence in an institution of the penitentiary inspection of medium security. At the same time, one of the Kazakh TV channels aired a documentary about Muratkhan Tokmadi, in which he confessed to the murder of Yerzhan Tatishev. According to Tokmadi, he committed the murder on the order of Mukhtar Ablyazov. In 2004, he bribed investigators to be found not guilty of killing a friend. According to the authors of the film, shortly before Tatishev's death, Tokmadi withdrew a large amount from the bank – more than $ 4 million. Together with his friend Sergei Nepropekin, he began to create a joint business. Mukhtar Ablyazov began to slander Tatishev, convincing Tokmadi that the banker could set him up at any moment, thus persuading the businessman to physically eliminate Tatishev. According to journalists, this attitude of Ablyazov towards Tatishev was caused by envy and resentment. After the death of Yerzhan Tatishev, Ablyazov took his place in the bank. In February 2018, at the trial, Tokmadi fully admitted his guilt in the premeditated murder of Yerzhan Tatishev. In March 2018, the court sentenced Muratkhan Tokmadi guilty of committing a crime under paragraphs "zh" and "z" of part 2 of Art. 96 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (as amended in 1997) – "Murder committed by a group of persons by prior agreement, for mercenary motives, as well as for hire or associated with robbery, extortion or banditry." And sentenced him to ten years in prison without confiscation of property. In November 2018, the court sentenced Ablyazov Mukhtar Kabulovich in absentia to be found guilty of committing a crime under Art. 28 h. 3, 96 h. 2 p. "zh", "z" of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan as amended in 1997 and under this article to appoint him life imprisonment. In December 2020, the Tagansky Court of Moscow sentenced Mukhtar Ablyazov in absentia to 15 years in prison in a case of embezzlement of almost 60 billion rubles (more than $800 million). Ablyazov and several persons involved in the case with him were charged with fraud, legalization of property obtained as a result of a crime, causing especially large damage by deception by an organized group.

"The accused are hiding outside of Russia, their extradition was denied," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.

Anatoly Ereshchenko and Alexander Udovenko, who worked at BTA Bank, received 13 years in prison in absentia, Tatiana Paraskevich – 12 years in prison, Igor Kononko – ten years in prison. The court fully satisfied the civil claim for compensation for property damage to the bank in the amount of more than 173 billion rubles. To secure this claim, land plots, shares in offshore companies and Ablyazov's accounts, as well as the property of other defendants for 24 billion rubles, were seized.

The Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan movement, founded in 2002 by Mukhtar Ablyazov and his associate Galymzhan Zhakiyanov, was recognized by the court as an extremist organization in March 2018. According to the General Prosecutor's Office of Kazakhstan, the purpose of the DCK is to seize power by force and incite discord in society. Participation in and any support for a banned movement will face criminal liability. Mukhtar Ablyazov, who is outside of Kazakhstan, is active on social networks, calling on his supporters to overthrow the government. It is known that at different times, he collaborated with Aidos and Natalya Sadykov , Zhanara Akhmet (Zhanna Bota), Ermek Narymbaev. Women played an important role in Ablyazov's criminal activities. With the help of some, he withdrew money from Kazakhstan, others participated in his attempts to evade responsibility. A special role in the criminal biography of Ablyazov was played by Botagoz Jardemalie, Lyudmila Kozlovskaya, Irina Petrushova. As for the "opposition activity" of Mukhtar Ablyazov, it consists in organizing unauthorized rallies by him. Since December 2019, the leaders of the banned organization DCK have taken measures to change the name to "Koshe Partyasy".

"This was done in order to continue the extremist activities of the DCK under a new name and in order to avoid responsibility. These circumstances were objectively confirmed in the course of the pre-trial investigation of the extremist activities of the DCK conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Based on the results of studying the materials received, the experts came to the conclusion that the DCK had transformed into the "Koshe Partyasy" movement. As part of countering extremism, the prosecutor's office applied to the court to establish the fact of changing the name of the organization," the Prosecutor General's Office reported.

By the decision of the Yesil District Court of Nur-Sultan dated May 19, the application was satisfied. The court found that the DCK changed its name to "Koshe Partyasy" and they are one extremist organization.

"The court banned the activities of the DCK throughout the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan under the new name Koshe Partyasy, including through the use of the media, telecommunications networks, social networks, instant messengers and video hosting, and the distribution of information materials. In accordance with Article 243 of the Civil Procedure Code, this court decision is addressed to immediate execution," the Prosecutor General's Office specified.

Despite the court decision, Ablyazov's supporters systematically violate the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan by organizing and participating in unauthorized rallies. In 2018, five criminal cases were opened against DCK activists. In November 2019, the Almaly District Court of Almaty completed the consideration of the criminal case against Anuar Ashiraliyev, Oksana Shevchuk, Gulzipa Dzhaukerova and Zhazira Demeuova, who were found guilty of participating in the activities of the DCK public association. It was noted that from March to May 2019, Shevchuk, Dzhaukerova, Demeuova and Ashiraliyev, in support of the movement and the idea of the DCK, knowing that this movement was recognized as extremist, took part in unauthorized rallies several times. They voiced a negative image of the current government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, putting forward demands voiced by the leader of the DCK, Mukhtar Ablyazov. In addition, in May 2019, these individuals filmed a video in support of political prisoners, which was published on the Instagram page of Mukhtar Ablyazov. In court, the defendants pleaded not guilty. But the case was proved thanks to the testimony of witnesses, the conclusion of a forensic psychological and philological examination, watching videos from the rally, search protocols, as a result of which leaflets related to the activities of the DCK were found in the defendants' homes, as well as other material evidence.

"When imposing punishment as mitigating circumstances, the court took into account the presence of minor children in the defendants, as well as the third group of disability in Ashiraliyev. Shevchuk, Demeuova, Dzhaukerova, Ashiraliyev were convicted under Art. 405 part 2 "Organization and participation in the activities of a public association or other organization after a court decision to ban their activities in connection with their extremism" of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan to one year of restriction of freedom each," the court reported.

They were also deprived of the right to engage in activities in public associations for 2 years. In February 2020, the official representative of the Prosecutor General's Office, Oksana Peters, addressed the people of Kazakhstan.

"The Prosecutor General's Office has repeatedly spoken about the illegal activities of the extremist organization Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan. Its leader is Mukhtar Ablyazov, according to some, an ordinary intelligent person who is even trusted. In the 90s, he started as a businessman, then headed the national company "KEGOC" and the Ministry of Energy. But then he began to steal from the people and the state, deceived business partners and even ordered their murder. As Minister of Energy, he was convicted of corruption and in 2002 was sentenced to six years in prison. Later he repented, asked for forgiveness from the leadership of the country and the people, promised to improve. Believing his appeal, he was pardoned and released. However, he succumbed to greed and continued his criminal activities. The court established that in 2005, he organized the contract killing of his business partner, the chairman of BTA Bank, Tatishev. The perpetrator of the murder of Tokmadi admitted that it was Ablyazov who ordered the murder of Tatishev during the hunt for four million US dollars, presenting it as an accident. After the murder of Tatishev, Ablyazov became the head of the bank, created a criminal group from among his close people and placed them in all the key positions of the bank," said Peters.

She added that Ablyazov's schemes of crimes were different. He issued billions in loans to his front companies using forged documents, then used them for personal needs.

"He gave 103 billion tenge to LLP Ramburs, under his control, while the authorized capital of the LLP was only 92 thousand tenge. With the stolen money, Ablyazov purchased shares, elite houses and apartments. For his family, he bought three aircrafts, for the maintenance of which he annually allocated one billion tenge from the bank. When all the machinations of Ablyazov were revealed, in 2009 he fled to Russia, then to England, and in 2012 to France. But before that, in order to make everything comfortable for him abroad, he withdrew all the money in advance through offshore companies. Offshores are countries where no one checks foreign companies, you can hide the real owners and not pay taxes. There are ideal conditions for laundering criminal money. Using offshore countries, he stole $7.5 billion. Ablyazov's scams affected not only Kazakhs, but also the French, Germans, Americans and others. He was put on the wanted list by Russia and Ukraine, where he also stole billions. Last year, a New York court found Ablyazov a criminal and rejected his arguments about political persecution. The High Court of London, also recognizing him as a fraudster, recovered $4 billion and sentenced him to 22 months in prison for false testimony. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of England deprived him of his refugee status, so Ablyazov fled to France. From that moment on, he began to actively create for himself the image of a political figure persecuted by the authorities of Kazakhstan, a fighter for democracy. However, do tell, could a person worried about his country, in an interview with the foreign newspaper Vecherny Bishkek, recommend to the Kyrgyz people to cut off the water supply to the southern regions of Kazakhstan, so that the population suffers from the drought and begins to express discontent. Numerous civil proceedings are currently underway against him. More than $1 billion has already been returned. There were eight convictions in the criminal case. 42 people were convicted," the official representative of the Prosecutor General's Office said.

Peters noted, that Ablyazov, from abroad, continues to urge the population to participate in illegal actions, allegedly protecting the interests of the population of Kazakhstan.

"He uses you to sow social discord and interethnic enmity in society, mistrust towards each other. He is indifferent to the well-being of our citizens, he is concerned about one goal – to avoid responsibility for his crimes. He pays for participation in rallies from the money that he previously stole from our own citizens. We urge you not to succumb to provocations and refrain from participating in illegal actions," concluded Oksana Peters.

On January 2, 2022, Mukhtar Ablyazov happily announced on his social media page that "Today Zhanaozen celebrated the New Year with protests." Indeed, on that day, hundreds of residents of Zhanaozen went to the building of the akimat to protest against the increase in gas prices. In a city where most cars run on gas, protesters blocked traffic on a road in the city center. Zhanaozen residents demanded to reduce the price of liquefied gas to 50 tenge per liter: on December 31 st , the cost of gas in the city was 100 tenge, and from January 1 st , it increased to 120 tenge. Those who gathered in Zhanaozen called on the oblast akim Nurlan Nogayev and the city akim Maksat Ibagarov to take measures to stabilize prices and prevent fuel shortages. Acting akim Galym Baizhanov arrived to the protesters. He said that Ibagarov is now on leave. The official asked the audience to put their demands in writing and submit them to the akimat. In response, the protesters said that they had previously addressed letters there, but there were no results from this. On the morning of January 3, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev instructed the government to urgently consider the situation in Zhanaozen. As a result, by order of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Askar Mamin, a government commission was created to consider the socio-economic situation in the Mangistau region, which developed a package of measures to regulate the price of liquefied petroleum gas. On January 4, the government commission began work in Aktau. Activists of the Mangistau region also announced the creation of a public headquarters for the regulation of prices for liquefied gas. On the same day, during a meeting of the government commission with activists who gathered at Yntymak Square in the city of Aktau, it was announced that the cost of liquefied gas was reduced and the price was set at 50 tenge per liter in the Mangistau region as part of the social responsibility of NC Kazmunaygaz. The President of Kazakhstan addressed the protesters and asked them not to follow the calls of destructive individuals. However, the protests spread throughout the republic, acquiring a massive aggressive character. And already on the night of January 5, in large cities of Kazakhstan, against the backdrop of mass protests, there were interruptions in the Internet, instant messengers and social networks stopped working. On January 5, Tokayev made a statement in connection with the current situation in the country, calling for prudence and not to succumb to provocations from inside and outside, the euphoria of rallies and permissiveness. In Almaty, subdivisions of law enforcement agencies forced out the bulk of the protesters from the Republic Square, where about a thousand people had gathered. As a result of the aggravation of the situation, Tokayev introduced a state of emergency in Almaty and the Mangistau region. The next day, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan dismissed the government. The duties of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan were temporarily entrusted to Alikhan Smailov. In addition, by presidential decree, Yermek Sagimbayev was appointed chairman of the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Murat Nurtleu – First Deputy Head of the KNB. Tokayev instructed to introduce state regulation of prices for liquefied gas, gasoline and diesel for a period of 180 days. Meanwhile, a state of emergency was introduced in the Almaty region. In Almaty, an aggressive crowd of "peaceful protesters" seized the building of the akimat. The protesters began to smash social facilities and interfere with the work of the ambulance. A state of emergency was introduced in the capital of the country. The President of Kazakhstan announced that he was assuming the post of Chairman of the Security Council. He also made a new appeal to the people of Kazakhstan, saying that whatever happens, he intends to be in the capital of the republic. In Almaty, protesters smashed the offices of a number of TV channels. On January 6, in connection with a serious and immediate threat to the security of citizens, in order to ensure public safety, restore law and order, protect the rights and freedoms of citizens, a state of emergency was introduced by presidential decree throughout the republic. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held a meeting of the Security Council, during which he stated that he had applied for military assistance to his CSTO partners to provide a peacekeeping contingent of the countries participating in the agreement. An anti-terrorist special operation began in Almaty to establish order in the city, as a result of which the airport previously captured by terrorists was released. The Almaty police detained about 2,000 rioters during the cleaning of city streets. The country began a global personnel reshuffle. The CSTO Collective Security Council decided to send the CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Forces to Kazakhstan. And on the same day, it was announced that the advanced units of the CSTO contingent had already begun to carry out their tasks in Kazakhstan. They included units of the armed forces of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. On January 7, the General Prosecutor's Office of Kazakhstan opened criminal cases on the facts of organizing and participating in mass riots, and a pre-trial investigation into acts of terrorism was launched. Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan expressed their desire to create people's guards to protect their business. Speaking with an appeal to the people, Tokayev said that counter-terrorist actions should be continued until the complete destruction of the militants. He also stated that he ordered law enforcement agencies and the army to open fire on the terrorists, and to shoot without warning. A critical – red – level of terrorist threat was introduced throughout Kazakhstan. Law enforcement agencies detained 3,811 people throughout Kazakhstan, among the detainees was criminal authority Arman Zhumageldiev (Wild Arman). On January 8, Karim Massimov, former chairman of the KNB of Kazakhstan, was detained on suspicion of high treason. The situation in the republic gradually began to stabilize. As you can see, in this entire series of events, nowhere and no one mentions the name of Mukhtar Ablyazov. Obviously, the fugitive banker has nothing to do with the coup attempt. However, Ablyazov himself, on all the days of the January "pogroms" (attacks), carefully created the appearance of direct involvement in their organization. On days when the Internet was turned off and there was no connection throughout Kazakhstan, Ablyazov scribbled posts with calls to go to rallies and even appointed times and places to gather. It looked especially "touching" against the background of the fact that Almaty had already been completely plundered by that time. However, the head of the DCK stubbornly did not want to notice the pogroms, the killed and beaten security officials, the injured businessmen and the frightened Almaty residents. During all these days he wrote about the overthrow of the Nazarbayev regime and admired the bandits. Like most of the so-called oppositionists, Ablyazov subsequently began to distort the facts that took place during the days of the January pogroms and glorify the bandits. Moreover, two of Ablyazov's accomplices, Lyudmila Kozlovskaya and Bota Jardemalie , said that at the PACE summer session in Strasbourg, they met with deputies of the Council of Europe member countries and "presented a new report on the human rights situation in Kazakhstan and a list of political prisoners, victims of executions and torture in January, politically persecuted in criminal cases".

"Lobbyists hired by the authorities of Kazakhstan are trying to convince the Council of Europe to accept Kazakhstan as a member country, but without ratifying the European convention on human rights. That is, the authorities of Kazakhstan want to enjoy the benefits of membership in the Council of Europe, but at the same time continue to violate human rights. Representatives of the authorities of Kazakhstan are spreading propaganda in the Council of Europe that Kazakhstan has allegedly switched to a parliamentary form of government, about the supposedly democratic transformations in the country," Ablyazov wrote on social networks after the statements of Kozlovskaya and Jardemalie.

The former banker also renamed his movement once again – now it is the Alga Kazakhstan party. At the same time, Ablyazov is collecting funds for the personal cards of activists who are in the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, in order to overthrow the regime. Obviously, Ablyazov does not need a stable and calm Kazakhstan, and he will continue to rock the situation to the best of his ability.

On July 4, 2022, the French magazine Paris Match published an article entitled "The Way of the Cross by Mukhtar Ablyazov, a billionaire who moved to France." Its author, Francois de Labarre, said that Mukhtar Ablyazov, accused by Kazakhstan of embezzling $7.5 billion, succeeded in terminating the trial in France at the beginning of the year. But at the same time, he is still under the gun of justice in the UK and Kazakhstan, where he was sentenced to life imprisonment. It is noted that in Paris "a confusing dossier is in a stack of delicate cases of the new President of the National Court of Asylum, who is soon to rule on his case."

"Last Friday (July 1, 2022 – Note) the National Court of Asylum (CNDA) welcomed its new President. Former Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Justice Mathieu Hérondar will run a large machine with 1,200 employees and a throughput of more than 60,000 decisions per year. The CNDA is the administrative jurisdiction for asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected by the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA). While the number of cases is skyrocketing – up more than 40% this year, according to Le Figaro – the CNDA also has to deal with highly political cases. One of the most sensitive concerns the oligarch Mukhtar Ablyazov, who left for France and has been living in Paris for ten years, and his status has not yet been determined," the article says.

The journalist said that in the 2000s, the former Energy Minister of Kazakhstan headed BTA, one of the largest banks in the country. He is considered one of the richest people in the world. The Kazakh state accuses him of extorting some $7.5 billion from the bank through fictitious loans and a host of shell companies. Settling in London in a luxurious house on Bishops Avenue, the very one that the British call "billionaires' alley", Ablyazov then appears as an implacable opponent of the regime of Nursultan Nazarbayev, to whom he attributes the origin of his legal problems. British justice, in fact, does not think so, the author notes: he not only fails to obtain political refugee status, but is also sentenced in early 2013 to 22 months in prison for contempt of court.

"Then the billionaire escapes to France on a bus. It took eighteen months for English detectives, commissioned by the BTA bank, to get on his trail on the Cote d'Azur. On July 31, 2013, in the small village of Mouan Sartoux, between Cannes and Grasse, twelve masked police officers from the Nice Investigation and Rapid Response Brigade (BRI) arrive at a luxurious house on rue Castellaras. From the air, they are supported by a helicopter equipped with a thermal imager, in case the suspect hides in the forest. Alerted by an arrest warrant notice from Interpol, French police fear the billionaire is being guarded by armed bodyguards or even a "private military company." In fact, Ablyazov was alone, in shorts and a T-shirt. He starts by brandishing a Central African Republic passport in a false name, and then, without batting an eyelid, allows himself to be detained," the publication says.

François de Labarre, writes that on the basis of two extradition requests issued by Russia and Ukraine, which, like his country of origin, accuse the oligarch of major embezzlement, he is placed in solitary confinement in the Luyne prison in the suburbs of Aix-en-Provence. Next, the run along the obstacle course begins, during which the departments of the French administration will contradict each other.

"In early 2014, the administrative court of Aix-en-Provence ordered his extradition to Russia or Ukraine. The decision was upheld by the Lyon Court of Appeal a year later. In September 2015, Prime Minister Manuel Valls signs the extradition order, but a year later the decision is canceled by the Council of State. Within the administration, the Ablyazov case is controversial. The Councilors of State considered that he should be treated as a political opponent, since he faces the same risks if extradited. OFPRA investigators, for their part, believe that the facts for which he is being prosecuted are devoid of any political nature. In May 2018, his asylum application was rejected by the OFPRA under Article F of the Geneva Convention, which states that "certain acts are so serious that they do not merit international protection".

The billionaire then appeals to the National Asylum Court and is granted satisfaction. In September 2020, the CNDA reverses the OFPRA decision, arguing that there are "risks of persecution due to political views if he returns to his homeland." The OFPRA, which should grant him refugee status, then decides to appeal to the Court of Cassation. In its many powers, the Council of State acts as a court of last resort in administrative disputes. Therefore, the decision is up to them. The decision is made in December 2021, and then, unexpectedly, the State Council disputes the refugee status granted to Mukhtar Ablyazov. Meanwhile, the oligarch is seeking an end to criminal prosecution in France, but in Kazakhstan he is sentenced to life imprisonment," the author clarifies. According to the journalist, Ablyazov was also sentenced by a British civil court to pay BTA $4.6 billion.". For the same reason, the British authorities stripped him of his refugee status. Following the decision of December 2021, the CNDA now has to rule on this complex case.

"The case is sensitive due to France's ties with Kazakhstan in the area of arms sales and uranium supplies. Meanwhile, the context breaks a new element: the war in Ukraine. If Mukhtar Ablyazov is extradited, will he go to Kyiv or Moscow? The last hope of the relatives would be, as a source close to the case tells us, "to receive at least protection that will not allow him to be extradited." And become an illegal billionaire?" asks the author of the article Francois de Labarre.

Apparently, these are very difficult times for Ablyazov: it may happen that very soon he will be in his homeland – in Kazakhstan.