Former Kazakh bank chairman told to pay $300m over fraud
FORMER BTA bank chairman Mukhtar Ablyazov was yesterday ordered to pay $294m in damages to the Kazakh lender.
The court case revolved around claims Ablyazov misappropriated a portfolio of AAA-rated securities worth nearly $300m by transferring them to overseas shell companies he owned.
At the High Court yesterday Judge Launcelot Henderson said Ablyazov “must have been personally responsible for the misappropriation of the AAA investments” and said his explanations were “implausible” and “frankly incredible”.
Ablyazov, who is being held in France after being arrested there in July, is accused of fraud totalling around $5bn. He fled the UK in February last year after being sentenced to 22 months in prison for contempt of court.
Ablyazov has denied all claims, saying he had no knowledge of the transactions.