An honorary purse of ex-president Nazarbayev and a billionaire who never had his own business, Bulat Utemuratov is the main link in laundering Russian billions through Kazakhstan.
After the sanctions that hit leading Russian companies and holders of the bulk of President Putin’s money, it was Bulat Utemuratov who initiated the creation of a Kazakh hub for the Kremlin, the British press writes. Moreover, now the services of Utemuratov are used not only by oligarchs close to Putin, but also by large organized crime groups, in particular, Andrey Skoch, a former member of the Solntsevsky gang. It is worth noting that other legends of the nineties from various criminal and oligarchic circles of the Russian Federation can also come to Utemuratov through Andrey Skoch.
Who is Utemuratov?
Bulat Utemuratov is one of the pillars of the Nazarbayev regime. Ultimately, any power rests on money, and Utemuratov is its main wallet. Starting with a “simple” director of a grocery store, he quickly became what he is – the third richest billionaire in Kazakhstan. Moreover, he has never been engaged in the actual business, which is pretty surprising for foreigners.
Thanks to Bulat Utemuratov, huge capitals have been and are being withdrawn from the country, which no one will ever replenish. It is to him that we owe the export of oil, gas, metals – and the appearance of luxurious villas of the “elite” in Italy, Switzerland, Britain and other countries. He held government positions, was the head of the presidential administration – managed his affairs.
We will begin the cycle of stories about the biography of Bulat Utemuratov with a general description of his business activity. Let’s start with his very fast career growth – a butcher, director of a grocery store .. head of the trade mission of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Austria. Let’s continue with the creation of ATFBank and its role in it. Let’s move on to the sale of the bank to the Unicredit group. And so on. There will be many chapters in the biography of Bulat Utemuratov, since the figure is certainly rich and interesting to our readers.
Bulat Utemuratov is one of the founders of Kazakhstan, no less. Moreover, unfortunately, the founder of many of what should be considered his negative qualities. Bulat Utemuratov himself does not own anything, all or almost all of his property is managed by Verny Capital. He, in turn, manages dozens of other, domestic and foreign enterprises. “Verny Capital” does not have significant public circulation, which means that the share price does not actually affect the capitalization of Bulat Utemuratov. That is why Bulat Utemuratov can easily pretend to be impoverished.