Bulat Utemuratov
Bulat Utemuratov | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Bulat Utemuratov 13 November 1957[citation needed] |
| Nationality | Kazakh |
| Spouse | Utemuratova (Baishuakova) Azhar Abzhamiyevna |
| Website | bulatutemuratov |
Bulat Zhamituly Utemuratov (also called Bolat, Kazakh: Болат Жамитұлы Өтемұратов, Bolat Jamıtuly Ótemuratov; born 13 November 1957) is a Kazakh businessman, public figure, diplomat and philanthropist.
Early life and education
[edit]Utemuratov was born in 1957. His father worked in the judiciary and was a prosecutor, and his mother worked as an accountant. Utemuratov graduated from the Faculty of Economics of the Almaty Institute of National Economy in 1981.
Career
[edit]After Kazakhstan became an independent country in 1991, President Nursultan Nazarbayev selected Utemuratov to go to Vienna and find economic opportunities for the new republic.[1] He helped broker Kazakhstan’s first line of credit with Bank Creditanstalt.[1] In 1996 Utemuratov was appointed as ambassador to Switzerland, a position he held for three years.[1]
After Utemuratov returned, he was made first deputy minister for external economic affairs.[1] In 1995, Utemuratov, jointly with a group of partners, founded the Almaty Trade and Finance (ATF) Bank; by 2007 he was its controlling shareholder. In 2007, Utemuratov, along with minority shareholders, sold ATF Bank to the Italian UniCredit group for $2.3 billion. As of 2007, this transaction was the largest in the Central Independent States banking sector.[2][3] Subsequent reports suggested that Utemuratov and his family members made more than $1 billion from the sale.[1]
In 1999, Utemuratov was a member of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.[4] From 2003 to 2006 he was secretary of the security council and head of the presidential property management directorate from 2006 to 2008.[5]
From 2008 to 2013, Utemuratov, was described as an "adviser to the president" and held a role as a special representative to Kyrgyzstan.[6] This close relationship with Nazarbayev led to Utemuratov being given the nickname "the grey cardinal" in Kazakhstan.[7][8] The Times quoted a spokeswoman for Utemuratov saying he: "is neither a middleman, nor proxy for President Nazarbayev" and that he had not profited from his relationship with the President.[9]
Kassa Nova, formerly owned by Utemuratov, was established in 2009 and was acquired in 2020 by Freedom Holding Corp for an approximate $41 million.[10]
After Samruk-Kazyna SWF closed a sale of its shares in Temirbank and part of its shares in Alliance Bank to Utemuratov in May 2014, ForteBank was created.[11]
As of 2013, Utemuratov was a key investor of the projects managed by Verny Capital investment group,[12] together with VEON he also owned two telecommunications operators –"KarTel" in Kazakhstan[1] and "SkyMobile" in Kyrgyzstan operating under the brand Beeline (brand). Verny Capital is a majority shareholder in a gold mining company RG Gold, while 35 percent equity stake belongs to Resource Capital Funds, a US-based private equity fund.[13] Utemuratov is the main shareholder of ForteBank; he owns the Burger King franchise in Kazakhstan and has holdings in hotel sector[14][15] Utemuratov has been the President of the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation since 2007.[16] In September 2019, Utemuratov was elected as ITF Vice-President.[17]
Glencore
[edit]In 2011, when Glencore the Swiss-based mining and commodities company, announced its initial public offering (IPO) in London, the company said that some of the proceeds would be used to buy back the Kazzinc Glencore's copper subsidiary shares held by Verny Capital.[18] In 2012, Glencore bought the Kazzinc shares back from Verny Capital for $1.359 billion,[19] including $400 million in cash and the rest in Glencore shares. In 2013, Glencore-controlled zinc producer Kazzinc, acquired the Vasilkovskoye gold mine in Kazakhstan from Verny Capital.[20] As part of this transaction, Verny was given shares in Kazzinc, Kazakhstan.
In 2012, Glencore's Kazzinc subsidiary bought a 56% in a private school called Haileybury Astana for $23 million.[21]
In 2013, Glencore gave a loan to Astana Property Management (APM), a company owned by Bulat Utemuratov via Verny Capital. The loan was to finance APM's construction of the Talan Towers hotel and apartment complex in Astana, Kazakhstan. Glencore loaned a total of $237 million to the project but the miner was forced to write off $96.5 million in 2018 after reported poor performance.[22] Since that transaction, Utemuratov and Glencore have done several other deals together. In 2015, Glencore bought Utemuratov's Gulfstream private jet in an undisclosed transaction.[7]
Utemuratov sold his Glencore shares in December 2021[23]
Freezing of assets
[edit]On 1 December 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported about the freezing of Utemuratov's assets including stakes in luxury hotels, cash in bank accounts in half a dozen countries and a Burger King franchise, by a UK civil court on the claim of BTA Bank.[24][25] The freezing injunction of the English Court in relation to the assets of Bulat Utemuratov was lifted in December 2020 following a settlement between the two parties.[25]
In March 2022, Dame Margaret Hodge, a British Member of Parliament, named Utemuratov in a speech advocating for sanctions against Kazakh billionaires.[26] Utemuratov was one of 30 oligarchs and members of the Kazakh elite who, Hodge claimed, had benefited from their ties to the Nazarbayev regime.[27] Hodge said: “Bulat Utemuratov is a former chief of staff to Nazarbayev. A US diplomatic cable reported allegations that Utemuratov was the president’s "personal financial manager" and his own website assesses his personal wealth at $3.9 billion.”[28]
Personal life
[edit]Utemuratov is married to Utemuratova (Baishuakova) Azhar Abzhamiyevna. He has two sons[29] and a daughter.[citation needed]
Awards
[edit]- Order of Kurmet (2002)[30]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Gizitdinov, Nariman (13 November 2013). "Kazakh Billionaire Says He's Got Nothing to Hide". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
- ^ "Kazakh Billionaire Said to Weigh Bid as State Sells Banks". Bloomberg L.P. 9 April 2013.
- ^ "The birth of a Kazakh banking empire: ATF Bank". www.intellinews.com. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
- ^ "Press Releases 1999". unece.org.
- ^ "Security Council — Official website of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan". Akorda.kz. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
- ^ Orange, Richard; Ebrahimi, Helia (12 May 2011). "Glencore's $7.6bn Kazakh business under threat". The Telegraph.
- ^ a b Millard, Rachel (3 March 2019). "Glencore bought jet from Kazakh dictator's sidekick Bulat Utemuratov". The Times.
- ^ Nurshayeva, Raushan (7 February 2013). "Kazakh fund adds 29 pct of Kazzinc to stakes in miners". Reuters. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
- ^ "Glencore gave Kazakh dictator's ally big share in school". 12 August 2023.
- ^ "Freedom Holding Corp. Acquires the Kassa Nova Bank". 4 August 2020.
- ^ "The birth of a Kazakh banking empire: ATF Bank". www.intellinews.com. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
- ^ "Kazzinc, Verny to Buy Kazakh Gold Producer for 30 Billion Tenge". Bloomberg L.P. 19 February 2013.
- ^ "White & Case Advises Resource Capital Fund VII L.P. On Acquisition of 35 Percent Equity Stake in Kazakhstan Gold Mine | White & Case LLP". 8 January 2019.
- ^ "Bulat Utemuratov". Forbes.
- ^ "Verny Capital to build $300 million tower complex in Astana: 18 June 2013, 16:55 - news on inform.kz". 18 June 2013.
- ^ Futterman, Matthew (5 October 2022). "The Billionaire Trying to Turn Kazakhstan Into a Tennis Nation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
- ^ "Kazakhstan tennis chief appointed ITF vice president". OCA. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
- ^ Orange, Richard (6 May 2011). "Glencore float could create Kazakhstan's richest man". The Telegraph.
- ^ MacDonald, Alex. "Glencore in new deal to buy 18.91% Kazzinc stake". Marketwatch.
- ^ "UPDATE 1-Kazzinc, Verny Capital buy two Kazakh gold deposits". Reuters. 19 February 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
- ^ Leroux, Marcus; Baldwin, Leigh; Ralph, Alex (20 February 2019). "Glencore gave Kazakh dictator's ally big share in school". The Times.
- ^ Millard, Rachel. "Glencore takes $96m hit on loan to Kazakhstan's Bulat Utemuratov".
- ^ "Bulat Utemuratov". Forbes.
- ^ Hope, Bradley (1 December 2020). "U.K. Court Freezes Up to $5 Billion Tied to Alleged Kazakhstan Bank Theft". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
- ^ a b Higgins, Andrew; Bradley, Jane; Koshiw, Isobel; Wild, Franz (18 June 2021). "The Power of Money: How Autocrats Use London to Strike Foes Worldwide". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ Dawkins, David (4 February 2022). "Kazakhstan Billionaires 'Named and Shamed' in U.K. Parliament by Senior Politician as Corruption Sanctions Near". Forbes.
- ^ Klein, David (8 February 2022). "Kazakh Corruption 'Named and Shamed' in British Parliament". OCCRP.org.
- ^ "Commons Chamber, Motion made, and Question proposed, Dame Margaret Hodge, Kazakhstan: Anti-corruption Sanctions". Hansard. 3 February 2022.
- ^ Gizitdinov, Nariman (13 November 2013). "Kazakh Billionaire Says He's Got Nothing to Hide". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
- ^ "О награждении государственными наградами республики казахстан". kazakhstan.news-city.info. "Утемуратова Болата Джамитовича - помощника Президента Республики Казахстан.".
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