Will Nazarbayev's son-in-law face trial? What consequences await Timur Kulibayev, one of Kazakhstan's wealthiest individuals?

Timur Kulibayev, the son-in-law of former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and the husband of his middle daughter, Dinara, is one of the wealthiest individuals in Kazakhstan. He ranks second in Kazakhstan's Forbes list with a net worth of five billion dollars, having seen an increase of 700 million dollars over the past year. In the global Forbes billionaire rankings, Kulibayev is positioned at 612th this year.

2024-12-19 09:16:23https://rus.azattyq.org/a/zyatya-nazarbaeva-budut-sudit-chto-grozit-timuru-kulibaevu/33216708.html

Kulibayev and his wife oversee Halyk Bank, the largest commercial bank in the country. He owns the company "Mercury Properties," which is involved in leasing and managing commercial real estate with a total area of over one million square meters in Almaty, Astana, Atyrau, Aktobe, Aktau, Shymkent, and Dubai.

In addition, Kulibayev holds stakes in around twenty oil production and trading companies.

All this property was acquired by the couple during Nazarbayev's presidency. However, now that the former president has stepped down, Kulibayev may face legal action. According to the Telegram channel Nege Aqsha, the oligarch has been sued by the Asset Recovery Committee of the General Prosecutor's Office: this became known after relevant information appeared on the "Judicial Cabinet" portal.

In this context, Majilis deputy Ermurad Bapi accused the oligarch of earning excessive profits from the sale of Kazakh oil. Bapi stated that a significant portion of the revenues from the sale of Kazakh oil goes to companies owned by Kulibayev: there are more than 200 of them, registered in 22 countries worldwide. According to the deputy, the oligarch is making super profits while Kazakhstan is plugging budget holes with external loans and using funds from the National Fund, which was established as a fund for future generations.

"It is well known that Kazakh oil is sold at one price within the country through swap operations and at completely different [prices] abroad. The difference ends up in offshore accounts and the accounts of foreign companies," said Ermurad Bapi. "It's time to be satisfied with what has already been received. We need to leave something for future generations!"

Bapi emphasized that the issue of creating a National Operator for the export of minerals has become urgent in Kazakhstan. With its emergence, in his opinion, certain individuals, including Kulibayev, will stop enriching themselves through the resale of oil.

According to the Telegram channel Nege.Aqsha, a decision to include Kulibayev on the list of individuals the Kazakh state intends to make slightly poorer was made a year ago. Following this, in the spring of 2024, representatives of Timur Kulibayev filed three lawsuits against the Asset Recovery Committee of the Prosecutor General's Office of Kazakhstan, all of which were dismissed. At that time, the agency refused to disclose information about the oligarch's assets claimed by the state, stating that this information pertains to state secrets.

According to Nege.Aqsha, by the decision of the Asset Recovery Commission on October 13, 2023, Kulibayev was included in a classified list of oligopoly subjects whose assets may be returned to the state.

At the same time, media reports emerged suggesting that Kulibayev allegedly reached some pre-trial agreement with the authorities of Kazakhstan: under this agreement, he would pay the treasury about one billion dollars in exchange for his "indulgence" and the opportunity to retain his assets.

This information was later commented on by oil and gas industry expert Olzhas Baidildinov. According to him, in reality, the Kazakh state received twice as much from the former president's son-in-law, namely two billion dollars. However, this information has not been officially confirmed by anyone.