Is London’s tolerance of the ‘black’ money of the Kazakh tycoons coming to an end?

By David Dawkins

Kazakhstan’s billionaires – worth more than $ 14 billion – could face new sanctions, according to a leading member of the British Parliament. Labor MP Margaret Hodge said in a speech to the House of Commons on Thursday night that the United Kingdom should take responsibility for “rolling its eyes” and helping the Kazakh regime “wash away the black”. his money “.

In the wake of riots in Kazakhstan last month sparked by fuel prices – riots that left 225 dead, 4,500 injured and 10,000 arrested, but also forced former President Nursultan Nazarbayev to leave the country – in the political arena The UK’s debate on London’s role in maintaining Kazakhstan’s regime has begun. The wealth of the Kazakh elite is now in the spotlight, especially the financial crimes that have allowed British banks and legal services to commit as well as the use of luxury real estate in order for Kazakh businessmen to legitimize illegal profits.

In a colloquial speech based on past allegations of crime and under the protection of parliamentary immunity, Hodge “exposed” Kazakhstan’s billionaires and prominent businessmen.

Timur Kulibaev and his wife Dinara Nazarbayeva (Nazarbayev’s daughter), according to Hodge, have been “charged with money laundering and bribery” outside the UK, adding that Kulibaev was worth $ 2.9 billion, according to Forbes. , and owns real estate worth at least $ 80 million in the UK. Kulibaev and Nazarbayeva had pleaded not guilty and the Swiss Public Prosecutor’s Office withdrew the charges against Kulibaev in 2013.

Hodge has accused Vladimir Kim – the richest man in Kazakhstan – of representing the owner of Kazakhmys, the first Kazakh listed company on the London Stock Exchange. A Global Witness report claims that the real owner of the company is Nazarbayev. Kazakhmys’ board of directors denied the allegations and told Global Witness that the company had gone through the necessary audit process before being listed on the stock exchange in 2005.

Mining tycoons Alexander Machkevich and Patokh Chodiev of Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Limited (ENRC) have come under fire from Hodge over a British fraud investigation dating back to 2013, following allegations of bribery of African politicians. The Law Society Gazette reported in June that the Serious Fraud Prosecution Service (SFO) had not yet charged the ENRC, which denies any wrongdoing. The investigation continues.

Finally, Hodge slammed businessman Bulat Utemuratov for his role in Nazarbayev’s regime after serving as the former president’s deputy chief of staff. Utemuratov created his personal fortune in 2007, when Italian bank UniCredit acquired a 92% stake in ATF Bank in Kazakhstan for $ 2.1 billion.

For too long we in Britain have turned a blind eye to a corrupt elite in Kazakhstan that have stolen from their people to line their own pockets. Today in Parliament I named & shamed some of these kleptocrats and urged the Govt to take action by issuing sanctions against them. pic.twitter.com/LJ3mHtSXLf

– Margaret Hodge (@margarethodge) February 3, 2022

In her speech, Hodge also referred to other tycoons – familiar to Forbes readers – such as Kairat Satybaldy: the mysterious former head of the country’s Secret Service who was once a major shareholder in the London-based fintech Kaspi. (Kaspi made its major shareholders Mikhail Lomtadze and Vyacheslav Kim billionaires in October 2020). Hodge described Satybaldy as “a man who enjoys considerable wealth through offshore structures” as well as “a key figure in Nazarbayev’s close circle, involved in the ongoing power struggle in Kazakhstan that undermines peace and security.” A spokesman for the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan, of which Satybaldy is the first vice-chairman, did not respond to emailed questions regarding the most recent reports.

Nazarbayev’s grandson Nurali Aliyev has been the subject of a failed attempt by British authorities to link him to the so-called “McMafia” in order to explain how he became the owner of a number of properties in London and even Bishops Avenue.

Hodge cited Forbes estimates of the net worth of Kazakh tycoons. In all, Forbes estimates that the value of the billionaires referred to by the Labor MP is about $ 14 billion. Concluding her speech, Hodge demanded that the government commit itself to bringing a new bill on economic crime to parliament, which would provide the necessary services with the necessary “weapons” to fight corruption. “I ask the minister if he will investigate the people I have named and if he will impose sanctions on those who stole from their country and laundered their money here – using UK structures to cover up their illicit profits, using its ‘golden way’ “to enter the UK – or those who have violated human rights. Will it finally work?”

Hodge’s speech is part of a broader UK crackdown on kleptocrats. Last week, the Times of London commented that US officials were frustrated with the United Kingdom over its tolerance of “black” money from the former Soviet Union, a move that has hampered sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin in response. in Russian aggression against Ukraine.

A source in Washington told the Times: “Putin has no accounts with money abroad, everything is in the names of kleptocrats and many of them are in houses in Knightsbridge and Belgravia, under the nose of the British government.”

Paul Massaro, an anti-corruption adviser in Congress, told Forbes: “It’s time for the UK to end the black money that is infecting its system, and it is encouraging to see Mrs Hodge addressing this threat directly. calling for strong sanctions against known kleptocrats.

Hodge is waiting to see if the recent British government sanctions against Russia will expand their target in the coming weeks against UK-based billionaires.

Representatives of Timur Kulibaev, Dinara Nazarbayeva, Alexander Machkevich, Patokh Chodiev, Vladimir Kim and Bulat Utemuratov did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read also:

* How Putin helps oligarchs save their wealth

* These are the “Kremlin oligarchs” targeted by the US with sanctions

* Four Kazakh tycoons lost $ 3 billion in 48 hours