APDC Investigates Kulibayev and Abulgazin-Linked Company in Atyrau

The Atyrau Regional Department of the Agency for Protection and Development of Competition ("APDC") has launched an investigation into Batys Petroleum LLP, suspected of abusing its monopoly position, Orda.kz reports.

According to the regional Agency office, a local entrepreneur filed a complaint against Batys Petroleum.

During an unscheduled analysis, the agency discovered that the company had set and maintained monopolistically high prices for repair services for tank cars that transport petroleum products.

The investigation is ongoing.

If a violation of antimonopoly legislation is confirmed, measures will be taken against Batys Petroleum, including a fine of 3-5% of annual turnover, confiscation of monopoly income, or an order to reduce prices to an economically justified level, the department stated.

Batys Petroleum LLP, registered in Atyrau in May 2015, specializes in the maintenance, inspection, and repair of tank cars and preparing tanks for loading petroleum products.

According to enbek.kz, the company employs around 200 people.

However, the most intriguing aspect of this case is the company’s ultimate ownership. Batys Petroleum is wholly owned by Petroleum LLP, which is controlled by three legal entities: PTC Holding, Eridan Invest LLP, and Neoholding LLP.

PTC Holding is linked to structures associated with Timur Kulibayev, Nursultan Nazarbayev's son-in-law and Kazakhstan’s second-richest businessman.

Kulibayev controls this entity through Joint Technologies LLP, which is, in turn, owned by his Kipros LLP.

Another co-owner of Petroleum, Neoholding LLP, is jointly owned by Joint Technologies, the Dutch-registered ADNTS Holding B.V. (also linked to Kulibayev), and businessman Daniyar Abulgazin, who ranks 21st on Kazakhstan’s Forbes list.

This is not the first time the Agency has raised concerns about companies linked to Kulibayev.

Last year, the agency fined Liquefied Petroleum Gas Storage Park LLP — controlled by the oligarch — over a billion tenge.

Original Authors: Daniel Arturov, Nikita Drobny