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 husband to his middle daughter Dinara, is among the wealthiest individuals in Kazakhstan. He ranks second on the Kazakhstan 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 holds the 612th position this year.

2024-12-20 09:16:14https://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 the rental and management of commercial real estate totaling over one million square meters in Almaty, Astana, Atyrau, Aktobe, Aktau, Shymkent, and Dubai.

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

All this property was acquired by the couple during Nazarbayev's presidency. However, now that the first president has stepped down, Kulibayev may face legal action. According to the Telegram channel Nege Aqsha, an asset recovery committee under the General Prosecutor's Office has filed a lawsuit against the oligarch: 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 claimed that a significant portion of the revenues from Kazakh oil sales goes to companies owned by Kulibayev: there are over 200 of them, registered in 22 countries worldwide. The deputy stated that the oligarch is reaping super-profits while Kazakhstan is patching budget holes through external loans and expenditures from the National Fund, which was created as a fund for future generations.

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

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

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

According to Nege.Aqsha, by the decision of the asset recovery commission dated October 13, 2023, Kulibayev was included in a classified list of oligopoly subjects whose assets may be returned to the state.

Meanwhile, media reports emerged that Kulibayev allegedly entered into some pre-trial agreement with the Kazakh authorities: 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 expert Olzhas Baydildinov. According to him, in reality, the Kazakh state received twice as much from the former president's son-in-law, that is, two billion dollars. However, this information has not been officially confirmed by anyone.