News

BTA Bank statement on conclusion of committal hearing against Mukhtar Ablyazov

Almaty, 23 December 2011 – Today JSC BTA Bank (hereinafter – “The Bank”) announced that the English High Court concluded its consideration of BTA Bank’s application to have former Chairman of the Board of Directors Mukhtar Ablyazov imprisoned for dealing with his assets in breach of an asset freezing order and the related receivership order granted by the English Court, failing to give proper disclosure as required by that order and giving false evidence.

A judgment in the case is expected to be handed down early next year. BTA Bank has pursued the committal action against Mr. Ablyazov to prevent further dealings and dissipation of assets.

As part of BTA obligation to creditors, the Bank is pursuing in England a number of claims in relation to a series of transactions which the Bank and its advisers consider to have amounted to unlawful misappropriations of the Bank's assets by some of its former management.

Notes to editors:

- The committal hearing is part of BTA Bank’s proceedings against former Chairman of the Board of Directors Mukhtar Ablyazov to recover billions of dollars in assets the Bank alleges were misappropriated by him and his associates.

- In November 2010 Mr Justice Teare ordered that Mr Ablyazov's disclosed assets be put into the control of independent, court appointed receivers. The receivership has subsequently been extended several times and now extends to over 600 companies.

- BTA Bank issued committal proceedings in the English High Court against Mukhtar Ablyazov on Monday 16 May 2011.

- In June 2011, Syrym Shalabayev, the brother-in-law and close associate of Mr Ablyazov, was sentenced to an 18 month custodial sentence after being found in serious contempt of court.

- In October this year, the English Court of Appeal sentenced Paul Kythreotis, an associate of Mukhtar Ablyazov, to 21 months in prison after he was found to be in serious contempt of court.

- To date, the Bank has issued nine claims in England against Mr Ablyazov and others worth approximately US$5 billion.

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