Why Did Kulibayev Change Managers of His Holding Company?

Almost two years have passed since the events of Bloody January, but the wind of change is still blowing. Timur Kulibayev has recently replaced all of his long-time partners in the raw materials holding company, Joint Resources. The entire board of directors and the CEO lost their positions overnight. Perhaps another compromise between "Jana Kazakhstan” (New Kazakhstan - Ed.) and members of the ex-president's family is in the works?

The government seems to be conducting a campaign on returning the property of “Old Kazakhstan".

The following changes serve as further evidence:

Dariga Nazarbayeva has been stripped of her status of as a Majilis deputy

Sarah Nazarbayeva has been removed from the Commission on Women's Affairs and Family and Demographic Policy

Kairat and Gulmira Satybaldy have been handed down sentences, and assets worth $300 million returned to the state

Samat Abish has become a person of interest in an investigation because of Qantar

Those involved in the embezzlement of 26.8 billion tenge in Operator ROP LLP, associated with the youngest daughter of the ex-president of Kazakhstan, Aliya Nazarbayeva, have been convicted

Kazakhtelecom JSC has terminated cooperation with Aliya Nazarbayeva's firm — Instant Payments LLP

Anipa Nazarbayeva has re-registered the land of the Kenzhehan Almaty market belonging to her

The situation around the property of the Altyn Orda market associated with Bolat Nazarbayev

Kairat Boranbayev's detention, the transfer of a number of his assets to the state, and then the subsequent release of the businessman

Dariga Nazarbayeva's unofficial husband, Kairat Sharipbayev, has lost a large transport and logistics company Eurotransit Nur Zholy LLP in the Jetisu region and a gas processing plant under construction in Kashagan

You're up

Back in May, by a court decision, 50% of LLP "Liquefied Petroleum Gas Storage Park" was taken from Timur Kulibayev. This may suggest this businessman's affairs are being closely monitored. 

During the preparation of this material, information surfaced that Timur Kulibayev's Caspian Oil JSC was leaving the AIX exchange, and the sole shareholder decided to delist shares.

The board of directors of Kulibayev's holding Joint Resources JSC has also been changed. The oligarch dismissed three managers — Raushan Sagdiyeva, Asel Tokeyeva and Sholpan Ainabayeva.

He has appointed Rakhmet Khairullayev as head of the board of Directors, Adela Musa - independent director, and Oyanzhan Maketova. And Kudabayev Y. A., as reported by KASE, became the company’s CEO. Presumably, we are talking about Yermek Askerbekovich, who has been an independent director in many large companies — Kazakhtelecom, KEGOC, Kazkommerce-Life, Altele, etc.

The decision was made by Halyk Bank's sole shareholder and the main owner on November 23, but became public four days later.

Kulibayev's holding mainly manages assets in Kazakhstan’s oil and gas, oilfield services and energy sectors. The company directly owns seven subsidiaries, including JSC "Crystal Management", LLP "Kazakhstan's mineral resource investment company", JSC "Shubarkol Premium" and other enterprises.

Who's The New Guy?

For Rakhmet Khairullayev, his position is familiar, he is still in the board of directors of the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund. He has also headed the largest drilling company in Kazakhstan, KazPetroDrilling, headed the MH Industry enterprise, and worked at Kaspiy Neft-TME JSC. In 2018, he was a member of KEGOC JSC’s managing staff.

Oyanzhan Maketova was a member of the board of directors of Green Power Generation. The company is 100% owned by JSC Crystal Management, 51% of which is owned by Joint Resources Holding. As for Adela Musa, there is no publicly available information.

Live or Blank?

The last time the board of directors of Joint Resources was changed - November 2022. Asel Tokeyeva was brought in at that time. Her official duty - represent the sole shareholder. Sholpan Ainabayeva joined the Board of Directors as an independent director in December 2020. She also works as the Chairman of the Board of SkyBridge Invest.

Raushan Sagdiyeva has made quite the name for herself. In 2023, Forbes Kazakhstan put her on the list of the 50 most influential business professionals of Kazakhstan. She got 47th place. The entrepreneur is considered a long-time partner of the Kulibayev spouses, she personally owns Vector Enterprise and FCI Management LLP. Through them, she owns shares in JSC Crystal Management (9.5%) and Shubarkol Premium (16.5%). She also owns shares in AIFN Car City enterprises (15%), Joint Technologies and Arbat Retail.

At the same time, Sagdiyeva is one of the three stakeholders (founders) of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Storage Park. It was fined in late November for abusing its market position.

One cannot rule out the influence of her sister Saule, as well as her nephew, now managing director of Kazakhmys corporation, Nurakhmet Nuriyev.

What Does It Mean?

The change in management may be related to the reduction of the holding's assets. The company included this in a report published on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange in August. The indicators fell by half, to 210 billion tenge, due to losses from the revaluation of the business against the background of adjustments in prices for raw materials.

Meanwhile, journalist Denis Krivosheev had shared his opinion regarding Sagdiyeva. As he wrote, Sagdiyeva should not have been allowed to leave the country, since she is "the key to all Timur Kulibayev's facilities." She had also initiated criminal cases against undesirable persons, thereby gaining control of assets.

Do you remember that by a court decision, 50% of the authorized capital of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Storage Park was returned to the ownership of the Atyrau Refinery? At one time, the company was bought out at auction by Joint Technologies LLP, owned by Timur Kulibayev and Raushan Sagdiyeva. Through Joint Technologies, Tim owns the QazaqGas fueling station, the former fueling stations of KazMunayGas, wrote Denis Krivosheev.

The journalist believes that the money would be sufficient for building thousands of schools. Krivosheev also shared where Raushan Sagdiyeva is currently — Singapore.

The woman must be returned, find out how many criminal cases were fabricated on her orders, and how many (people - Ed.) this hag has brought to ruin! How many fates she has destroyed! And she's not alone. Kulibayev's cancerous tumor has grown with metastases of Sagdiyeva, Nurieva and a whole group of other parasites! (The author is speaking metaphorically - Ed.)
 added Denis Krivosheev.

In 2017, the businesswoman was elected an independent director of Almaty International Airport JSC. The main trial in the case against its former president, Aibol Bekmukhambetov, is coming to an end. The investigation lasted almost five years. He and another person involved are accused of misappropriating or embezzling someone else's entrusted property. During the court debate, the public prosecutor requested 10 years in prison for each defendant. However, the judge sent the case for further investigation because of shortcomings.

Krivosheev’s tone indicates that Sagdiyeva was unlikely a figurehead. Rather, she played the role of a manager with expanded powers in "Old Kazakhstan".

Raushan Sagdiyeva is also the founder of Car City JSC and Mercury Properties LLP — Dinara Kulibayeva is among the stakeholders (founders) of this company.

It is possible that she was able to head the board of directors of Sagdiyeva's Joint Technologies because of her membership in the Vector Enterprise Board of Directors. But her removal from this post on October 1, 2023 and the appointment of Yermek Baymukhanov, of course, could result in her losing the ability to manage the company.

According to another version, Kulibayev no longer trusts Sagdiyeva, or she fell out of favor with Akorda, thus forcing the oligarch to take action.

Original Author: Alexander Smolin

DISCLAIMER: This is a translated piece. The text has been modified, the content is the same. Please refer to the original article in Russian for accuracy.