Another Attempt to Take Over Orda Being Made

Kaspi.kz Board Chair Vyacheslav Kim is once again trying to seize Orda through his former security guard and proxy Maksat Ganiyev. He announced plans to remove our founder, editor-in-chief, and director, Gulnara Bazhkenova, by convening a “constituent meeting” on December 1.

We have accepted this challenge — and we are prepared to repel yet another corporate raid.

What Happened

Around 6 p.m. on October 21, we received a registered letter from Maksat Ganiyev. Inside, we learned that at an “extraordinary constituent meeting,” he intends to dismiss Gulnara Bazhkenova from the management of Orda and replace her with himself.

This is not his first attempt. Back on May 23, we received a similar notice signed by Vyacheslav Kim’s personal lawyer, Vitaly Pan, announcing a meeting for June 30 to remove our editor-in-chief. More notices followed, each changing only the date. On July 8, Gulnara Bazhkenova attended that meeting together with our film crew.

I was given an ultimatum: I must hand over my company to a certain Maksat Ganiyev, whom I don’t even know,
 Gulnara Bazhkenova said.

What’s Alarming About This Round

This new attempt came just hours after Orda’s lawyer, Murat Adam, contacted the Financial Monitoring Agency via the eOtinish portal, requesting an investigation into the seizure of Gulnara Bazhkenova’s 70 percent share in OrdaMedia.kz LLP.

We want the matter to be addressed at the central office of the Financial Monitoring Agency because it can only be resolved there. We provided all the legal grounds and attached all the necessary documents. As we can see, after the application was registered around 9 a.m. on October 21, we received a response from Maksat Ganiyev almost immediately, dated the same day,
 said Murat Adam.

Sixteen hours after our submission, Ganiyev’s new “letter” arrived. 

After months of cyberattacks and provocations, we don’t believe in coincidences anymore.

How It All Began

This story goes back to January 2022, when dissatisfaction with Orda’s reporting led to pressure on our editorial independence. Gulnara Bazhkenova refused to compromise, and the pressure escalated. In the winter of 2023, it turned into an ultimatum — either surrender a majority stake or Orda would be shut down.

I was given a choice: either they shut down Orda, or I sign the documents and hand over control to a man I’d never met. I was emotionally drained, physically exhausted, and, trying to save Orda, I signed the documents. Now, when we started sorting things out with lawyers, it turns out I wasn’t even given a copy of the agreement transferring my stake to Ganiyev,
 said Gulnara Bazhkenova.

In June 2024, we discovered that Gulnara Bazhkenova’s name had disappeared from OrdaMedia.kz’s founding documents in the eGov system. Records from 2020 to 2023 — including those reflecting share transfers — were gone.

The only surviving trace was the company’s registration at Gulnara Bazhkenova’s own address.

Our Request

According to our lawyer, Murat Adam, Ganiyev’s new offensive aims to deprive Gulnara Bazhkenova of the legal ability to defend her rights and reverse the hostile takeover.

This is being done deliberately — to finally tie Gulnara Bazhkenova’s hands and deprive her of the legal basis to fight for Orda against Maksat Ganiyev, whom she directly accuses of corporate raiding. Everything is being done for these purposes,
 said Murat Adam.

We have officially appealed to Zhanat Elimanov, head of the Financial Monitoring Agency, requesting a meeting with Gulnara Bazhkenova and our lawyer.

We also invite auditors to assess Orda and file a claim demanding payment for the 70 percent stake taken from Gulnara Bazhkenova by Vyacheslav Kim’s proxy, Maksat Ganiyev.

Original Author: Editorial

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