Peter Sztyk, a Canadian lawyer and entrepreneur who also goes by the name “Petro”, has joined a group of foreign consultants who will manage the Office of Strategic Programs, which the NOC inaugurated in February 15 during a meeting with local oil industry executives in Benghazi.

Who is Peter Sztyk?

The Canadian lawyer graduated in 1993 from Concordia University with bachelor in political science. In 1996, he earned a Bachelor of Laws from Université de Montréal before getting admitted to the Bar of Quebec in 1998 and later to the New York Bar in 2004. He speaks French, English, Ukrainian and Russian. According to Bloomberg, he became the CEO of New World Oil & Gas company in 2014.

Since 2020, he has been working with Canadian legal firm Delegatus, which states that his past experience prior to joining the firm include “the restructuring of the investment holding structure of an industrial holdings group with significant assets in Kazakhstan”.

Delegatus also says that he “acted as lead counsel and coordinating attorney for counsels from applicable jurisdictions including Kazakhstan, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Cayman Islands and Luxembourg.”

Connection to a Major Fraud Scheme

The self-described “transactional lawyer” and his American wife Botagoz Jardemalie are allegedly tied to the embezzlement of a Kazakhstani bank known as BTA Bank, which has been described as one of the world’s biggest financial frauds totaling US$5 billion, according to British newspaper The Guardian.

The bank’s former chairman Mukhtar Ablyazov perpetrated the fraud. The Kazakh government discovered the scheme in 2009, when it nationalized the bank. He was accused of “fraud on an epic scale” by using a web of shell companies and associates to siphon billions of dollars before fleeing to the UK.

After BTA Bank’s new management successfully applied for an injunction to freeze his assets in the UK, the presiding judge, Nigel Teare, ruled in 2013 that the fugitive oligarch had defrauded BTA Bank, saying that the evidence showed he had participated in a “dishonest scheme” to “misappropriate monies,” according to Reuters.

Incidentally, when Ablyazov became the sole owner of BTA Bank in 2005, Sztyk’s wife Botagoz Jardemalie was hired as managing director. She then went on to become a member of BTA Bank’s management board in October 2008, according to Open Source Investigations.

In January of 2020, American news website BuzzFeed obtained documents which link 25 of Ablyazov’s shell companies to Jardemalie. According to BuzzFeed, she fled Kazakhstan around the same time as he did and later moved to Belgium.

One of the companies used to conceal and move Ablyazov’s funds is controlled by Dubai-based British accountant named Eesh Aggarwal, as per BuzzFeed’s report. Aggarwal is described in a court declaration as “a financial advisor loyal to Ablyazov” and BuzzFeed’s documents shows direct link between Aggarwal and Sztyk.

Separate evidence reviewed by BuzzFeed shows that in summer 2013 an entity controlled by Aggarwal called Beron agreed to transfer $2 million to a company controlled by a Russian lawyer named Georgy Gomshiashvili. Beron is one of the companies Aggarwal is alleged to have used to administer the $500 million.

One of the documents seen by BuzzFeed shows that in August 2013 Gomshiashvili was introduced to Aggarwal by Sztyk. According to BuzzFeed, the same cache of documents also suggests that funds from Beron made their way to a company owned by Jardemalie.

On 4 May 2013, Kazakhstani authorities issued an arrest warrant on against Jardemalie’s, accusing her of “misappropriation or embezzlement of entrusted property” in relation to the positions she held at BTA Bank, according to Open Source Investigations. However, there are no public reports of whether or not Sztyk himself is the subject of any legally punitive procedures in Kazakhstan or anywhere else.

New Role in Libya

Established as part of a strategic plan for developing the country’s oil and gas sector, the Office of Strategic Programs will oversee the implementation of the plan using “modern methods and capabilities,” according to NOC’s chairman Farhat Bengdara.

During the inauguration ceremony in Benghazi last month, Sztyk was pictured among the panel of foreign consultants which are tasked with managing the office.

It is unclear how Sztyk, with his publicly questionable history, ended up on the final list of foreign consultants authorized by NOC to manage the Office of Strategic Programs. The NOC never disclosed whether there was a selection criteria or any form of vetting for the foreign consultants.

Until today, the NOC still hasn’t even disclosed how exactly would Sztyk, and the rest of the foreign consultants, manage the Office of Strategic Programs.

As Libya’s main source of economic welfare, the country’s oil industry has been the subject of political strife and forced blockade by the country’s warring parties who are competing to control oil for leverage.

With an allegedly corrupt consultant in charge, it seems now that the future of the NOC’s Office of Strategic Programs, and ultimately the future of Libya’s oil sector, are facing new threat from within.

Source: The Libya Update

The post Canadian lawyer allegedly tied to major fraud case joins new NOC program office appeared first on Ankara Haftalik.

Kenes Rakishev (Keñes Hamitūly Raqyşev) aka Kenges Rakishev is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, former special envoy for Kazakhstan, head of the Kazakh boxing federation, a family man, and most importantly, a man of success. Under Kenges Rakishev’s leadership, the Kazakh female and male boxing squad leaped considerable forward and secured the top ranking in the recent boxing championship putting Kazakhstan boxing squarely in the top ranking in the world. A total of 21 medals were won by the Kazakhstan’s boxers – a tally of six gold, seven silver and eight bronze – and all were honoured at a ceremony in Almaty last November. 

The backstory of Kenges Rakishev in business and his philanthropies is a complex one and is an interesting read with the Kazakh millionaire serving the interest of Kazakhstan, when he brought a number of top criminals in Kazakhstan to justice. An Israeli spy attempted to hack his account, is now serving time for his criminal hacking activities and falsifying entire email strings with the help of an Indian company. 

The question to ask is, why the fake news that was generated with considerable expense was aimed to destroy a routine career of a successful young entrepreneur? 

The answer is found in the plots of one person, Mukhtar Ablyazov, a Kazakh businessman who is on the run. On 5 July this year, the French court order the fugitive to leave France within the next 30 days. The deadline will expire on 5 August 2023. 

More interestingly and a fact largely overlooked, where Mukhtar Ablyazov’s connection to an “assassination” of the Deputy president of the BTA Yerzhan Tatishev, initially claimed as a “hunting accident”. But the true murderer, Muratkhan Tokmadi was apprehended and he claimed that Ablyazov gave the orders to kill the bank chair. He was sentenced to more than ten years on March 16, 2018. The case was declared as a premeditated murder by the Kazakh prosecutor. The fate of Ablyazov, who operates a fake NGO in Brussels that was identified as acting on behalf of the Russian foreign intelligence service, is linked to the recent MEP bribing scandal of an Italian former parliament member and the Greek former speaker of the EU parliament. The French court has withdrawn his political asylum status after the U.S. court in New York found Ablyazov guilty on fraud and money laundering charges. 

Kenges Rakishev was born on Bastille Day, the French national day on July 14, 1979. The 44-year Kazakh millionaire is an interesting study of human success. Ultra boyishly shy, he is the poster boy of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s “New Kazakhstan” vision for the future and better Kazakhstan. He received his education in the UK, married into the Kazakhstan elite clan and positioned quietly in the affairs of the state. Kenges’ wife, Aselle Tasmagambetova is the daughter of the former prime minister and holds a success story of her own. Together, the couple represents the future blueprint of a modern centrality at the crossroads of Central Asia, Europe, and Asia, and are still deeply embedded in Kazakh culture.

Kenges Rakishev is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, former special envoy for Kazakhstan, head of the Kazakh boxing federation, a family man, and most importantly, a man of success. 

Besides his fast rise to stellar fame, Kenges Rakishev has his ups and downs. Though it seems there is more ups than downs but unfortunately, he is targeted by smear campaigns by international hackers and fake news campaigns ‘journalists-for-hire’ funded by powerful crime figures. Such was the reality of his life. There were bizarre claims on his character, especially one made by one of Europe’s experienced journalists, which resulted in a public apology to the Kazakh former special envoy to US.

Looking past the many smears and attempts of insults, Kenges Rakishev is a successful businessman and tech investor in Kazakhstan, with interests in various industries, including mining, technology, and finance. Both husband and wife are actively involved in philanthropy work and generously supporting various causes and organizations in Kazakhstan and abroad.

However, Rakishev’s success and wealth have also made him a target of criticisms and scrutiny, especially in the context of Kazakhstan’s complex political and economic landscape. Some critics have accused him of benefiting financially and socially from his close ties with the Kazakh government.

Amidst the false reports, it is important to note that he and his family have not been charged or sanctioned by any U.S. or European government. Due to his tech savviness and careful business acumen, he rose to become an influential and well-connected individual in Kazakhstan. He was never involved in any illegal or unethical activities. While he may have had dinners and taken photographs with political leaders, it was all done all in a day’s work for Kenges whose aim was to do his job as appointed by the President Tokayev and the Kazakh government.

One such controversy was his so-called connection with an organized crime figure, Felix Sater. Sater has criminal history links to organized crime in New York, acted as an informer on the New York mob, the Russians and bizarrely, Osama bin Laden too protected him from jailtime. In 2019, a federal judge unsealed a 5k1 letter that outlined the extent of Felix Sater’s cooperation with law enforcement authorities. His cooperation was taken into consideration during his sentencing. Evidently, Sater’s testimonies on the mob at the U.S. House Intelligence Committee were viewed with some scepticism. In 2019, Vice ran an article that raised questions about Sater’s credibility and the accuracy of his claims. The article highlighted concerns about Sater’s criminal history, his associations with organized crime figures, and his tendency to exaggerate or fabricate his connections to influential individuals. While Sater’s credibility may be debatable, however it does not invalidate his statements and claims.

And then there’s Mukhtar Ablyazov, Rakishev’s long drawn political opponent. Once a media darling of the liberal press, his novelty has worn off. He was chairman of the board of directors at BTA Bank, where he was later found guilty of embezzlement and money laundering of the bank’s funds. Ablyazov was found guilty and convicted in the United Kingdom and in the United States, while the future for this fraudster and his associates looks dim in France. In early March 2022 a French court rejected his political claims and request for political asylum.

The U.K. Supreme court opening statement pointed out that Ablyazov executed an “elaborate attempt to conceal his assets” to avoid prosecution by the bank, at the time when the bank, BTA was nationalized. The U.K. courts frowned upon Ablyazov and his associates’ positions. The appeals by the Mukhtar Ablyazov and his associates were rejected by the U.K. Supreme court.

Mukhtar Ablyazov has since fled from U.K after a 22-month jail sentence in the UK court was handed down. Currently, he is rumoured to be in political exile in either France or Spain. On December 9, 2016, the highest French court (Conseil d’état) banned the extradition of Ablyazov to Russia and Ukraine. The U.K. court orders chose to explicitly illustrate the frauds committed by Mukhtar Ablyazov.

While Ablyazov was under investigations, the Kazakh administration executed a controlling stake holding on BTA Bank and appointed at the time a person the Kazakh state trusted. Kenges Rakishev was this man. Rakishev managed to save the company, fixed it and sold his stake. Mergers and acquisitions are his specialty after all.

“It was a national security crisis”, a person close to the matter spoke on grounds of anonymity. “Despite the western media celebrating Mukhtar Ablyazov as somewhat a hero, the truth is rather different”, she said. The criminal courts in the United Kingdom, the United States and now France has taken him into account, thus the ex-banker has limited room to move around in the European Union.

“The president looked around and when it came to the critical moment, he turned to Kenges Rakishev to save the employees, the bank and honestly, save Kazakhstan. It was a national security crisis. Rakishev has done his job and he was compensated, which is normal.” she added. “Once the job was done, he left, sold his shares and he went back to look after his family.” So Kenes saved the day. And saved the bank.

The post Kenges Rakishev: Influential Entrepreneur from Kazakhstan appeared first on Ankara Haftalik.

In exile the oligarch has assiduously courted European politicians to promote his defence

This tawdry scandal has focused on claims that Qatar funded an influence operation in the European parliament which resulted in the arrest and imprisonment of MEPs and a former vice-president. Over €1.5 million in cash has since been discovered stashed away in flats, offices, and hotel rooms across Brussels, France and Italy. The payments were allegedly part of a lobbying operation to bolster Qatar’s reputation and counter scrutiny during the World Cup of its human rights record. It is a devastating blow to the EU’s credibility. 

The investigation is focusing on the parliament’s human rights sub-committee which Panzeri was chairman of. Even though it is not a legislative body, the committee shines an influential spotlight on human rights abuses by countries outside the EU which makes it an ideal target for lobbying by international kleptocrats. 

And like Qatar, oligarchs have used Europe as a vehicle for rehabilitating their reputation and diverting attention away from allegations of criminality and controversy. A case in point is the Kazakh oligarch fugitive Mukhtar Ablyazov who last month was found guilty of a $218 million fraud in a US court and has been on the run from the UK courts since 2012. He was convicted in the UK of lying under oath about owning a London mansion, forging documents and contempt of court. He had been accused of embezzling $6 billion from Kazakhstan’s BTA Bank as chairman by channelling funds to thousands of offshore companies of which he was the beneficiary.  

Ablyazov fled to London, bought several properties and was sued by BTA bank for fraud. He lived a lavish lifestyle, living in a nine-bedroom mansion with an indoor swimming pool on Bishops Avenue, Hampstead, and a 100-acre estate on the edge of Windsor Great Park. But he declined to disclose details of his assets to the High Court and in 2012 was found guilty of contempt of court. ‘It is difficult to imagine a party to commercial litigation who has acted with more cynicism, opportunism and deviousness towards court orders than Mr Ablyazov’, declared Lord Justice Maurice Kay. 

An arrest warrant was issued against the oligarch who was sentenced to 22 months in jail for contempt of court. But just before the judgment was issued Ablyazov jumped out of a hotel room window, caught a coach from Victoria down to Dover and escaped to France by ferry. In his absence the High Court ordered Ablyazov to pay £1.02 billion and in 2019 issued a second arrest warrant. He was jailed in France but obtained political asylum. 

In exile the oligarch has assiduously courted European politicians to promote his defence that the fraud allegations are politically motivated because he was a vocal opponent of the Kazakhstan regime. One of his most diligent lawyers and active supporters was Panzeri who promoted Ablyazov’s agenda. Multiple parliamentary motions condemned the persecution of ‘dissidents’ and one even called for the protection of Ablyazov himself.   

Panzeri worked closely with NGOs like the Brussels-based Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF) which campaigns against human rights abuses. The MEP hosted events, made introductions and acted as a de facto lobbyist for Ablyazov. Despite the overwhelming evidence against Ablyazov, the NGO remains a staunch supporter of the oligarch. ‘ODF has included Ablyazov within our advocacy of defending thousands of victims of political persecution in Kazakhstan’, a spokesperson told me. ‘ODF defended Ablyazov, as well as his family members and associates between 2013 and 2016, at a time when Kazakhstan, through Russia and Ukraine, prosecuted dozens of people in politically motivated cases.’ 

The Kazakh oligarch claims the fraud and money laundering allegations are ‘the culmination of the campaign by former President Nazarbayev and his allies to wrest ownership and control of BTA bank from (Ablyazov)’. His lawyers stated he fled London because of ‘a death threat’ and was ‘constantly in fear of his life’ by Kazakh intelligence agents.  

Ablyazov remains in exile in France. But his luck appears to be running out. Last month he lost his appeal regarding his asylum status. Characteristically he appealed again and is allowed to stay in the country until the final ruling. ‘In the Judgement of CNDA (French Asylum court), Mr Ablyazov was recognised as a politically prosecuted person as part of his fight to bring democracy to Kazakhstan’, his lawyer Karim Beylouni told me. 

But the oligarch also potentially faces an ongoing criminal investigation in France for fraud. The prosecutors and BTA bank have filed an appeal with the Supreme Court after a court ruled the statute of limitation has expired. ‘Ablyazov bankrupted one of Kazakhstan’s biggest banks by committing one of the largest frauds in modern history, amounting to at least $7.5 billion’, Elena Fedorova, a BTA bank lawyer, told me. The appeal will be heard before June of this year. 

Today the claim against Ablyazov remains the biggest civil fraud case in British legal history. Despite his conviction for contempt of court and multiple offences, the prosecuting authorities have been remarkably complacent. The Crown Prosecution Service reviewed the evidence and refused to act. In 2019, after the second arrest warrant was issued, the UK National Crime Agency had access to all the files but declined to investigate because of ‘insufficient resources’. His extradition to face justice looks very unlikely.  

Meanwhile, Ablyazov’s cunning ploy of using political persecution as a diversionary tactic has been effective and the European parliament has been a willing accomplice. But his close relationship with one of the main suspects in this latest criminal investigation may return to haunt him.  

Source: The Spectator

The post How Oligarchs Use Brussels to Launder Their Reputations appeared first on Ankara Haftalik.