Akhmetzhan Yesimov: what did Nazarbayev’s unsinkable associate agree with Tokayev?
When Akhmetzhan Yesimov was “fired” from his position as head of the National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna, critics predicted a long prison term for him, including for embezzlement of the Fund’s funds.
But they rejoiced prematurely – Akhmetzhan Yesimov not only did not end up behind bars, but also feels fine.
And this in every sense of the word – both physically, morally and financially. Akhmetzhan Yesimov has not fallen out of the circle of influential people at all – no matter how ill-wishers ironize about his current position as a freelance assistant to the first president of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev-Yelbasa. By the way, Nazarbayev is either a relative or a great-uncle of Akhmetzhan Yesimov, and Akhmetzhan Smagulovich has not lost his influence at all.
To understand this, you just need to look at the Forbes lists. Akhmetzhan Yesimov’s name is not there. But there are the names of his daughter Aizhan Yesimova and her ex-husband Galimzhan Yesenov. However, the divorce between Esimova and Yesenov many people call fictitious, which is very similar to the truth. Because Yesenov’s kinship with Yelbasa’s relative (pardon the construction) hindered him from joining the ranks of the new elite represented by Kasym-Jomart Tokayev. Besides, after his accession Tokayev said that “very rich people appeared in the country under Yelbasy, but now it is time to think about the common people”. These words made many in Nazarbayev’s entourage nervous. Some of them did have problems, but not the Yesimov-Yesenov family.
However, let’s return to the Forbes lists. Aizhan Yesimova is ranked 44th in the rating, her fortune is estimated at 207 million dollars. Her ex-husband Galimzhan Yesenov is on the 15th line of the Forbes rating. He is almost three times richer than his ex – Esenov’s fortune is estimated at 590 million dollars.
Akhmetzhan Yesimov: what did Nazarbayev’s unsinkable associate agree with Tokayev?
What does Akhmetzhan Yesimov have to do with it? It is quite simple and complicated at the same time. Simply because in 2007, Galimzhan Yesenov, an unknown project manager of the Seimar investment group, suddenly married Aizhan Yesimova. And moved to work in the banking sector, and immediately to the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors of “Delta Bank”. And then he became a banker in general – he bought ATFBank and the very “Kazphosphate”, the sale of a share from which led Aizhan Yesimova to the list of the richest people in Kazakhstan.
And then everything was simple, as in that fable about an American billionaire – “I can account for every cent of my money, except for the first million”. With Galimzhan Yesenov, perhaps, this formula does not work, but we can help him to report. In order to understand where yesterday’s middle manager suddenly got millions of dollars to buy factories, banks, newspapers and steamships, it is enough to remember the biography of his father-in-law Akhmetzhan Yesimov of that period. And compare the rapid career and social growth of his son-in-law with these milestones of the great path of yesterday’s instructor of the district party committee, who was lucky to belong to the clan of the future Yelbasa. The latter went from the chair of the First Secretary of the Kazakhstani CPSU Reskom to the chair of the President of the Republic, and Esimov was always by his side.
Akhmetzhan Yesimov: what did Nazarbayev’s unsinkable associate agree with Tokayev?
The story is as old as the world and is no different from the stories of all the top party-paratroopers of the former USSR, who in 1991 suddenly found themselves the undivided rulers of the countries that had gained independence. And began to rob them unrestrainedly. Akhmetzhan Yesimov found himself in the advantageous position of Nazarbayev’s nephew, and at one point he realized that it was better to withdraw the stolen money not through other people’s structures, but through his own. This is how he got ATFBank, which was formally registered to his son-in-law.
There is no doubt that it was Esimov, not Esenov, who bought ATFBank – in 2013, the newly minted son-in-law simply could not have half a billion dollars, which the purchase of the bank cost. Further events only confirm this version. In 2017, ATFBank receives from the Central Bank of Kazakhstan refinancing of 260 million dollars. Akhmetzhan Yesimov at that moment is only the Chairman of the Board of JSC NC Astana EXPO-2017 and, it would seem, could not have anything to do with the refinancing.
But the key point in this is “seemed”. Because Esimov headed the exhibition in a hurry, because the previous management failed all the organizational measures. Yesimov’s task was to “restore and accelerate the preparation of Astana for the exhibition”. One of the first steps of the new Chairman of the Board of JSC NC Astana EXPO-2017 Akhmetzhan Yesimov was “cost optimization”. By the way, Esimov was praised at the highest level for holding the exhibition. And after the exhibition he became the head of JSC “National Welfare Fund “Samruk-Kazyna”.
And it was ATFBank, with which Esimov had warm relations while Akhmetzhan Smagulovich was akim (mayor) of Almaty, served JSC NC “Astana EXPO-2017”. In this position Esimov became famous for numerous sporting events, which are quite deservedly put to his credit. But the only thing that is missing is a detail: most of the events were organized by sports societies, the head of which was Galimzhan Yesenov. And the money allocated by the Almaty Akimat went, of course, through ATFBank.
Akhmetzhan Yesimov: what did Nazarbayev’s unsinkable associate agree with Tokayev?
The most obvious confirmation of Akhmetzhan Yesimov’s connection with ATFBank is the fact that in 2020 the money of the National Welfare Fund of Kazakhstan “Samruk-Kazyna”, which by that time was headed by Yesimov, was placed in the bank. And it was done in violation of all the rules governing the Fund’s activities, according to which the funds should be kept in a bank with a rating of “A”, while at that time ATF Bank had a rating of “B”. In November 2020, Yesenov sold ATF Bank to another bank affiliated with Nazarbayev – Jýsan bank.
Akhmetzhan Yesimov: what did Nazarbayev’s unsinkable associate agree with Tokayev?
It is not known how much money belonging to the people of Kazakhstan has gone abroad through ATFBank. But these sums are huge, as the Fund controls state assets, amounting to 43% of the country’s GDP. After Akhmetzhan Yesimov’s dismissal from the post of the Chairman of the Board of Samruk-Kazyna Fund, many thought that his son-in-law Galimzhan Yesenov would sit down together with him. The fact that through the Fund and ATFBank the money of persons belonging to Nursultan Nazarbayev’s inner circle was withdrawn was announced at the highest level.
Thus, Majilis deputy Yermurat Bapi in his request to the Prosecutor General directly stated that “The Swiss authorities found out that Galymzhan Esenov has a huge amount of money in his account. Yesenov is Esimov’s son-in-law. You and I know who Akhmetzhan Yesimov is. After the owner of the account could not prove that the money belonged to him, the Swiss investigators turned to the General Prosecutor’s Office of Kazakhstan, asking what they knew about Galymzhan Yesenov’s financial activities”.
But the appeal remained unanswered, although the names of Yesenov and Yesimov have come up in the investigation of the Center for Corruption and Organized Crime Research (OCCRP) in the context of money found in foreign accounts belonging to Nazarbayev’s closest relatives.
Akhmetzhan Yesimov: what did Nazarbayev’s unsinkable associate agree with Tokayev?
If we take into account that the total wealth of Nazarbayev’s family is estimated at least 20 billion dollars, the subsequent events concerning Akhmetzhan Yesimov and his former son-in-law Galimzhan Yesenov, who is frankly called the “purse” of his father-in-law, raise more questions than there are answers. Galimzhan Yesenov sold ATFBank in November 2020 to another bank affiliated with Nazarbayev – Jýsan bank. Yesenov owns 99.74% of First Heartland Securities JSC, through which he controls 79.63% of First Heartland Jusan Bank JSC, and another 20.11% of the bank is owned directly by him. Also, through Jusan Bank he owns shares in Kazakhtelecom JSC – 9.19% and in Kcell JSC – 9.08% (another 14.87% – personally).
In this connection it is necessary to understand the following: First Heartland Securities is a part of First Heartland group of companies, which belongs to Pioneer Capital Invest. It, in turn, is owned by Nazarbayev University (16.06 percent), Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools (9.46 percent) and Nazarbayev Foundation (74.48 percent). Thus it turns out that ATFBank, through which the money from the National Welfare Fund of Kazakhstan went (remember, from 2017 to 2021 it was headed by Akhmetzhan Yesimov), was bought by a bank actually owned by Nursultan Nazarbayev. It turns out that Akhmetzhan Yesimov’s “purse” has thus become Nazarbayev’s “purse”, at least in the banking sector of Kazakhstan. Although, most likely, in fact, it was so before Nazarbayev’s ouster from the post of president, and now the “spacer” in the form of Akhmetzhan Yesimov is simply removed. A significant part of the money, which the future Yelbasy considered his own, stuck to his hands.
But the current government has no claims to Galimzhan Yesenov. Nor do they have any claims against Akhmetzhan Yesimov, who placed the funds of the National Welfare Fund in a highly suspicious bank, which was eventually acquired by Nazarbayev. After the January 2022 mass riots, the current president of Kazakhstan, Tokayev, said that Samruk-Kazyna should either be reformed or liquidated. But neither happened. The management in the Fund, of course, was changed. But the investigation, if any, did not bring any claims to Akhmetzhan Yesimov and his son-in-law Galimzhan Yesenov. Although it has been established that the National Welfare Fund served to withdraw huge sums from state and quasi-state enterprises of Kazakhstan.
Hence there is an unambiguous conclusion – the new elite agreed with the old one. At least with its part. To which Akhmetzhan Yesimov, nephew and freelance assistant of the first president of Kazakhstan – Yelbasa, belongs. On what terms Esimov and Tokayev agreed and what it cost – it is not known. But the fact remains that Akhmetzhan Yesimov was not among those whom Kasym-Jomart Tokayev threatened when he called to “think about the common people”.