“We Were Deceived” — MP Bazarbek on Million-Dollar Deal Around Kulibayev’s Land Plot in Astana

A long-running land dispute in the heart of Astana has resurfaced again – this time involving new names of Kazakhstan’s wealthiest figures, Orda.kz reports.

There Shouldn’t Have Been an Auction

The land plot with the park near the Keruen shopping and entertainment center in the capital’s Left Bank resurfaced during an emergency session of the maslikhat. The meeting covered several unrelated topics, one of which was compensation for land plots being returned to state ownership.

Deputies pointed out that this particular plot had previously been sold at auction for 176 million tenge, but now the Akimat must pay 1.08 billion tenge for it — almost ten times more.

Since this problematic plot, which previously belonged to one of Timur Kulibayev’s companies, had already been discussed in 2023 by land law expert and now Majilis deputy Bakytzhan Bazarbek, we contacted him for comment:

Our republican land commission, Jer Amanaty, had already returned this land. The territorial department of the Committee for Land Resources Management filed a lawsuit, and by court decision dated September 15, 2022, the land was seized and was supposed to become state property. After that, it was to be included in the state land fund and transferred to the balance sheet of the State Institution ‘Comfortable Environment Management.’ Then, a project for a square or park would be developed. 

The deputy believes it’s necessary to investigate all stages of the land’s sale and its subsequent re-seizure.

First of all, we need to ask: who put this land up for auction? Which government body? Which official was responsible? They should be held accountable. This land should never have been put up for auction. That auction should not have taken place. 

He also stressed the need to examine how the plot was assessed.

We need to fully review the materials: what valuation methods were used, and why was the price so low — 176 million? Maybe the value was intentionally undervalued so that this prime piece of land in the center of Astana would quickly fall into the hands of wealthy individuals. Law enforcement agencies need to look into this. We must carefully examine the details. This is a suspicious auction, a suspicious valuation, and a suspicious price that the akimat is now paying for state needs, says Bakytzhan Bazarbek. 

He said he plans to personally support the maslikhat deputies. The Majilis deputy is currently preparing a formal statement to the Prosecutor General’s Office to initiate a criminal case and start an investigation.

There is clear damage to the state. If back in 2023–2024 this land was worth at least 800 million, and it was sold for 176 million, then the person who signed the appraisal report should be held criminally liable. It’s extremely frustrating when such things happen behind our backs. We had returned this land to state ownership, but it turns out we were deceived. 

Wealthy Individuals

We looked into who had owned this valuable site near the Keruen shopping center.

According to a court ruling, the land belonged to two LLPs — Astana Real Property Development and Astana Luxe Retail. The land was seized from these companies for failure to use the site as intended and for not building the promised multifunctional complex within the allotted time.

According to open sources, the founders (shareholders) of both LLPs are Compass Astana Company and Keruen Investments. At the same time, three LLPs — Astana Real Property Development, Astana Luxe Retail, and Keruen Investments — have the same director, Tair Balgabekov.

According to public records, Tair Balgabekov is also the CEO of Capital Tower Development, which owns and manages the Esentai Tower in Almaty.

Tair Balgabekov graduated from the Kazakh Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, earned a law degree from the U.A. Dzholdasbekov Academy of Economics and Law, and completed a master's program at the University of Exeter. He occasionally speaks at business forums but rarely appears in the media and is not involved in public scandals.

However, the Esentai Tower is a property known to be associated with Kairat Boranbayev. In 2016, Boranbayev bought a 50% stake in the Esentai Mall and Esentai Tower business center from developer Serzhan Zhumashov, a dollar millionaire from the Forbes list.

Returning to the land near the park, we looked more closely into the companies that owned it. The founders of the two LLPs — Astana Real Property Development and Astana Luxe Retail — were Compass Astana Company and Keruen Investments. Among the founders of Compass Astana Company is Kipros LLP, which is owned by the son-in-law of the first president, Timur Kulibayev.

Also listed as a founder is Aidan Suleimenova, daughter of Kazakhstan’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tuleutai Suleimenov, founder of the Ayala charity foundation, and wife of billionaire Daniyar Abulgazin. She was also mentioned in Orda.kz’s earlier investigation into the controversial Apple World LLP case.

The list of founders of Keruen Investments LLP includes businessman Kairat Boranbayev, known for his involvement in criminal cases and the return of assets to the state.

The second founder is Serzhan Zhumashov, founder of the development company Capital Partners and co-owner of the Esentai Mall and Esentai Tower.

More information about these businessmen can be found through their rankings on Forbes.

• As of May 2025, Timur Kulibayev ranks fourth among Kazakhstan’s richest individuals, with a fortune of $5.3 billion.
• According to Forbes (November 2024), Serzhan Zhumashov ranked seventh among the country’s wealthiest rentiers —those earning passive income from real estate, land, or natural resources — with an estimated annual revenue of 8.7 billion tenge. In 2020, his net worth was estimated at $143 million.
• Aidan Suleimenova ranked tenth among rentiers in November 2024, with reported income of 5.1 billion tenge.

These individuals once co-owned the land near the Keruen shopping center. Who bought the land at auction remains unknown, but this list may soon be expanded with more prominent names.

Orda.kz continues to monitor developments.

Original Author: Anastasia Prilepskaya