Nazarbayev’s daughter and son-in-law, and companies linked to them, possess property in Germany that has seen over one hundred million euros invested. About luxurious things that were not publicly promoted.
The interior decoration of the Seelach Palace in Baden-Baden is remarkable, with frescoes, opulent chandeliers, ceilings made of precious woods, and skillful stucco work. Those who have visited the property agree that this is the most impressive use of money by multimillionaires from former USSR countries.
In the 19th century, Seelah served as the summer residence of the renowned Russian diplomat, Privy Councilor Mikhail Khreptovich. But the aristocrat could not have imagined what is here today. The new owners from Kazakhstan have transformed the historic villa, creating a landscape park with fountains on the grounds, along with a luxury spa area below it. a luxurious spa area covering about a thousand square meters. Even pictures from space show the glass dome over the 25-meter pool.
Image from a satellite of the Seelach Manor in Baden-Baden. On the left is the historical residence of diplomat Khreptovich and a square with a fountain. On the right is a modern residential complex and a landscaped park, under which there is a spa area with a glass dome.
Four properties, 100 million euros
The development of the elite estate took almost a decade and was finished two years ago. The purchase price was 60 million euros. As per documents from the German company registry, the authorized capital of the company Schloss Seelach Invest, which owns Seelach, was gradually increased by this amount during the years of estate reconstruction. “They spared no expense,” one person involved in the reconstruction told DW. The builders provided updates at each stage, sending photos to Kazakhstan. “Once the clients were unsatisfied with the frescoes and had the work redone, despite the artist already being paid around 150,000 euros,” the source wonders.
Apart from Seelach Manor, Kazakhs also own, as per DW's findings, three additional properties in the area, including two historical monuments – the villa of the renowned architect Gustav Stroh, constructed in the early 20th century in the historicism style in Baden-Baden, and the Bühlerhöhe Castle Hotel (Schlosshotel Bühlerhöhe). In total, over 100 million euros have been invested in villas and hotels.
Similar family villas
“All of this is owned by members of the same family. You understand what I mean,” hints a source from DW, who previously worked with the structures of Kazakhstani investors in Baden-Baden. He lowers his voice, as if worried about being overheard. “Everything is done on a presidential scale,” he insists, requesting anonymity.
Clarity is brought by searches in German registries. The founder of Schloss Seelach Invest GmbH – the owner of the Seelach estate – is the Kazakh company Verus Praedium International, which belongs to the Kipros company from Almaty. The Transparency Register, established in Germany a few years ago to combat money laundering, removes any questions about owners. According to an extract from this register available to DW, the beneficiary of Schloss Seelach Invest GmbH is Timur Kulibayev, the son-in-law of the former president of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, and the husband of his middle daughter Dinara.
Adenauer, Kuchma, offspring of Nazarbayev
According to public records, Timur and Dinara Kulibayev are the ultimate owners of another company in Germany – Bühlerhöhe Castle Invest GmbH, which owns it through Kazakhstan’s Mercury Properties. This company also possesses two hotels in Bulle, near Baden-Baden. One of these, the Bühlerhöhe Castle Hotel, is a national monument.
Khreptovich’s house before it was renovated
The first chancellor of modern Germany, Konrad Adenauer, used to enjoy staying in this hotel, which is known for its unique architecture and its proximity to the national park. Twenty years ago, former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma also became fond of this place. In 2010, his former business manager Igor Bakai purchased the hotel through offshore companies. In 2013, Bakai went bankrupt, and the historic hotel was acquired by Kazakh businessman Yakov Tskhai, the owner of several oil companies and a business partner of Timur Kulibayev, particularly in the area of commercial real estate.
Enigmatic oil tycoon transfers assets to ‘family’
Tskhai is a private individual, and it is not even possible to find his picture in public sources. Based on documents in the German company register, the businessman has invested over one hundred million euros in the “Kazakh” real estate empire in Baden-Baden and the surrounding area through his Dostar-Invest holding and the Dostar Oil Service oil company over several years.
In 2020, when extensive work on the reconstruction and arrangement of the Zeelach estate was completed, the businessman transferred this property, as per extracts from the German company register, to Timur Kulibaev’s Verus Praedium International.
A year earlier, Tskhai transferred 90 percent of the authorized capital of Bühlerhöhe Castle Invest GmbH to Kulibayev-controlled Mercury Properties, and retained only 10 percent. Documents from German registers demonstrate this. The Kulibaevs and Tskhai, who were contacted by DW through Mercury Properties, did not respond to queries at the time of publication, particularly about the conditions under which the assignment of German assets took place in favor of the son-in-law and daughter of Nursultan Nazarbayev. German hotels Mercury Properties on the corporate website does not mention among its assets.
The villa of the architect Stroh is situated near the Seelach estate and was reconstructed at the same time as the estate. The villa is registered to the firm of Yakov Tskhai, but is managed by the same executive director as the German firms of the Kulibaevs
German villas purchased with petrodollars
Sanjar Bokaev, a well-known political observer in Kazakhstan, does not rule out the purely nominal role of Yakov Tskhai in business and in transactions with German real estate, and speaks of high corruption risks in the relationship of large businessmen with the ex-president’s family. He stated, “Members of the Nazarbayev family and other people close to him privatized everything related to oil and gas production, as well as ores and metal production. Everyone in Kazakhstan knows that without the consent of Timur Kulibayev it is impossible to enter any segment of the oil market.” in an interview with DW.
Timur Kulibayev is the husband of Nursultan Nazarbayev's daughter.
Until mid-January, Timur Kulibayev was the head of the Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs, which has a significant influence on business and government economic policy as per the law. Dinara and Timur Kulibaev – the wealthiest married couple in Kazakhstan. Forbes estimates the wealth of the daughter and son-in-law of Nursultan Nazarbayev at nearly six billion dollars. son-in-law of Nursultan Nazarbayev assets have more than doubled over the past ten years, and they began to accumulate wealth at the start of Kazakhstan’s independence, when Nazarbayev became the country’s leader.
Foreign real estate as a social irritant
Political analyst Dosym Satpayev believes that the ex-president and his family's substantial wealth symbolizes social injustice, which was a major factor behind the mass protests in January and led to riots and numerous deaths. escalated into riots and resulted in hundreds of deaths.
Nursultan Nazarbayev was the President of Kazakhstan from 1991 to 2019
After the latest wave of protests, Nazarbayev resigned as chairman of the National Security Council and his son-in-law resigned as head of the influential Atameken chamber. President Kossym-Jomart Tokayev promised to dismantle the oligarchic system amidst the protests.Opposition calls for asset freeze
Opposition politicians, who partly live in Europe due to concerns of persecution in Kazakhstan, have been attempting for years to seize accounts and property controlled by the Nazarbayev family in Western countries.
Nazarbayev family in Western countries. London-based opposition leader Akezhan Kazhegeldin urged for sanctions to be imposed on members of the Nazarbayev family and their inner circle, freezing of their assets, and accountability for human rights violations and corruption. Akezhan Kazhegeldin
Sanzhar Bokaev hopes that the wealth withdrawn by the ruling elites overseas will eventually return to Kazakhstan, indicating the end of the Nazarbayev era.
Center for the Study of Corruption and Organized Crime OCCRP,
Through organizations posing as charitable entities, Nursultan Nazarbayev controls around $8 billion worth of assets globally. In addition, in 2020, Radio Liberty journalists uncovered numerous high-value real estate properties owned by the Nazarbayev family in the United States and European countries. Center for the Study of Corruption and Organized Crime OCCRP, through fundsoperating under the guise of charity, Nursultan Nazarbayev controls around $8 billion worth of assets around the world. In addition, in 2020, Radio Liberty journalists published an investigation into dozens of elite real estate objects of the Nazarbayev family in the United States and European countries for a total of about 800 million dollars. German real estate was not part of this investigation.
From a formal point of view, the Kulibayevs’ investments in Germany are legal – they would violate the current German anti-money laundering legislation only if their illegal origin was established in Kazakhstan. Based on this, fulfilling the demands of Kazakhstani activists in Germany is not so easy, says Thomas Helm, chairman of the German-Kazakh Society. “In matters of confiscation of property, only the methods of the rule of law can be used. Everything must be provable,” he said in an interview with DW.
Money for a rainy day?
Mercury Properties did not respond to a question from DW about the purpose of acquiring assets in Germany and further plans to use real estate in Germany. “They seem to have bought it all as a stash for a rainy day,” says Hubert Schnurr, the mayor of Bul, where the Kulibayevs have two hotels, with disappointment.
Dosym Satpaev
Unlike the villas, which have invested millions, the Kazakhs have not invested a dime in the necessary modernization of hotels, complains the mayor. Although more than 20 million euros were paid for them, judging by the data of the company register on the authorized capital of the company Bühlerhöhe Castle Invest GmbH, the hotels simply stand idle with no prospects. The only guests in recent years were only up to a hundred Lithuanian builders who worked in the villas of Kazakhstanis. “I regularly receive offers from German investors to buy hotels, but the Kazakhs do not respond to my letters,” says the burgomaster.
Having luxurious estates in Germany, none of the members of Nursultan Nazarbayev’s family has ever visited them, according to DW interlocutors in Baden-Baden. Political scientist Dosym Satpayev is not surprised by this. Luxurious estates, in his opinion, are the same “alternate airfield” for the family of the ex-president in case of a change of power, like gold bars, shares and money in accounts in Western banks.
“The more different assets in different countries, the better, just in case. If a country does not develop, it can always end in a revolution. Therefore, the main task of these people is to connect to resources and, while there is access, pump out to the maximum and take them to safe places “, – the political scientist is sure. Satpaev notes that it may seem easier for wealthy Kazakhs to defend assets transferred to the rule of law in courts than in courts at home, if they have lost influence over them.
