Mukhtar Ablyazov, the former head of Bank Turan Alem JSC (BTA Bank), has secured the termination of the legal proceedings against him in France on the basis of the statute of limitations in the case of “breach of trust and money laundering”.
Agence France-Presse reported this on Tuesday, citing a source in the judiciary.
The lawyer of the ex-banker, Karim Beiluni, called the termination of the proceedings “a great victory for Ablyazov and his family.” However, the agency clarifies that the decision of the Paris Court of Appeal is not final, as the bank’s lawyers filed a cassation appeal against it.
Cases against Ablyazov
Criminal cases were initiated against Ablyazov in Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. He was accused of a number of offenses, including fraud, forgery, abuse of power. In Kazakhstan, Ablyazov is accused of embezzling $7.5 billion. The case against him was initiated in 2009, after which the banker fled the country and was put on the international wanted list by Interpol. In Russia, a court sentenced Ablyazov in absentia to 15 years in prison.
In July 2013, Ablyazov was detained in France. His extradition was simultaneously sought by Russia and Ukraine. As a result, priority was given to the Russian request, in September 2015, after two and a half years of litigation, the French government ordered the extradition of the defendant to Russia. Ablyazov’s defense argued that the case against him was politically motivated and appealed to the French Council of State, which reversed the decision to extradite him.
Kazakhstan filed a complaint against a former banker in Paris in 2017 based on a provision in the French Penal Code that allows a foreigner whose extradition has been denied on political grounds to be tried for a crime or offense committed outside of France.
In November 2018, a court in Kazakhstan sentenced the ex-banker in absentia to life imprisonment. Then he was found guilty of organizing the murder of the former chairman of the board of the credit institution, Yerzhan Tatishev.
