Behind the Fences: How Kazakh Oligarchs Fight to Protect Their Foreign Estates

The “New Kazakhstan” has become a goldmine for a select few, while the country’s elite continues to grow wealth overseas. Orda.kz looks into the luxurious English estates owned by the Kims and the Kulibayevs — and their disputes with local authorities.

The old oligarchs are only getting richer and more powerful. “Old” because now they’re divided into pre- and post-Qantar figures. Vyacheslav Kim, for example, has more than tripled his fortune in just three years — from $2 billion to $7.1 billion.

He remains at the top of Forbes’ list of the wealthiest businessmen of Kazakhstan.

Helping Kim expand his fortune is his wife, Tatyana. The Telegram channel “Vyhod k Moryu” published documents confirming that in 2021, she purchased Wishanger Manor in Surrey for £20 million. The property is a real historic English estate — centuries ago it belonged to Cistercian monks.

The estate sits on 16 hectares of land, complete with forests, a lake, a swimming pool, a tennis court, and even a separate lodge for security. And that’s not all. Tatyana Kim also purchased the old coach house — far cheaper, but still £1.6 million.

A Danger To Nature?

The idyll ended when Kim began reconstruction. British authorities ruled that the changes could harm local nature — in particular, the bat population. Officials also objected to a 2.5-meter wooden fence, deeming it too tall, “closed-off,” and “out of tune with the landscape.”

An inspector demanded that the wall be removed, sparking a dispute.

Kim insisted the fence was necessary for security and filed an appeal. Eventually, the authorities compromised: the fence could remain, but only if reduced to one meter.

The Surrey mansion, however, is only part of the Kim family’s British portfolio. In Mayfair, one of London’s most elite districts, Tatyana owns two apartments worth a combined £25.7 million.

Kulibayev 

Timur Kulibayev also owns property in the UK. In 2007, he purchased Prince Andrew’s former residence, Sunninghill Park, for $19.7 million — four million above the asking price. The house was later demolished and replaced with a new 14-bedroom mansion.

Meanwhile, the Nazarbayev family was buying up apartments in Chelsea, mansions on Bishops Avenue, and in Highgate.

Dariga Nazarbayeva and Nurali Aliyev own property in London worth at least £80m. The National Crime Agency issued unexplained wealth orders, which are used to track suspicious funds, against three properties: a mansion in The Bishops Avenue, one of the most expensive roads in the capital; an apartment in Chelsea; and a mansion in Highgate, north London. The orders were dismissed by a judge who found the NCA had not proved any link between the purchase of the homes and criminal funds. The Guardian reported.

Most of the property is linked to Nazarbayev’s family or members of the ruling elite that are close to them. Experts say the portfolio is likely to be “the tip of the iceberg” because many other properties will be owned by offshore shell companies, which do not disclose their beneficial owners. the researchers noted.

The Kulibayevs, like the Kims, once fought over fences — not in rural England, but in Spain, where they own a villa on the Costa Brava. Locals were outraged when they fenced off a public path to the Mediterranean.

Authorities ultimately ordered the fence to be removed, and the passage reopened.

London’s Gravitational Pull for Kleptocrats

After the events of January 2022, British lawmakers openly raised the issue of kleptocracy from Kazakhstan. Debates took place in Parliament about how London became a safe haven for the wealth of Kazakhstan’s ruling elite.

Labour MP Margaret Hodge was among the most vocal.

We (The UK – ed.) issued 205 Kazakh kleptocrats with golden visas to settle with their dirty money in the UK, Hodge declared.

Investigators at OCCRP later reported that the Nazarbayev family controls assets worth $7.8 billion through various funds. Some are tied to the British-registered Jusan Technologies Ltd — formerly the owner of Jusan Bank in Kazakhstan. The same bank that later came under the control of Vyacheslav Kim.

Hodge argued that the UK bears a degree of responsibility for the January unrest because Britain helped Kazakhstan’s elite accumulate and hide wealth for decades.

She pushed for targeted sanctions, naming Nazarbayev family members and associates — but no measures were ultimately taken.

As we can see, in the “New Kazakhstan,” major assets remain in the hands of the old wealthy class.

In Britain, even a millionaire’s fence cannot violate local regulations. In Kazakhstan, meanwhile, the fences surrounding the wealthy and influential have only grown higher.

Original Author: Zarina Faizulina