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AMERICAN COURT FOUND THAT MUKHTAR ABLYAZOV STOLE MONEY FROM BTA BANK AND LAUNDERED THEM IN THE USA

July 31, 2023 John G. Költl, Judge of the US District Court in the Southern District of New York, delivered a judgment in favor of BTA Bank JSC against Triadou SPV S.A. for over $193 million. The court's judgment followed the December 2022 jury verdict, under which Triadou was held liable for embezzlement and illicit enrichment. Besides the jury's verdict, the judge detailed the rationale for his decision on 66 pages after studying the case file. As a result, the court recognized the BTA’s claim in respect of Triadou for the trust and any funds that may have been received from the use of BTA funds, and also satisfied BTA's claims in respect of a number of Triadou's assets.

The court confirmed that the defendant, Triadou SPV, is a shell company established and controlled by Mukhtar Ablyazov's son-in-law, Ilyas Khrapunov, which received more than $70 million in money stolen from BTA invested by the company in real estate in New York and elsewhere in USA. As detailed in the court's findings: “Evidences presented in court show that funds invested on behalf of Triadou in the United States are directly related to US$115.3 million stolen from BTA by Ablyazov through another front company."

Despite Ilyas Khrapunov's claim that he sold Triadou SPV's parent company to a third party, Philipp Glatz, the court concluded that: “Glatz's acquisition of [Triadou SPV] was fictitious, paid for by Ilyas himself, and that Ilyas Khrapunov continued to control Triadou SPV even after litigation has begun.”

The court and jury heard witnesses, including Ablyazov and his accomplices, as well as expert witnesses, who explained the structure of a major fraud committed against BTA. The court ruled that the evidences presented by BTA to confirm that Ablyazov used BTA's Corporate Business Administration (UKB-6) to steal billions of dollars through “fake loans to offshore companies” are credible and complete.

The court concluded that “the offshore companies that were “clients of the Bank” [UKB-6] were owned or controlled by Ablyazov, and the “loans” he issued had no economic content. Instead of being transactions between independent parties, the “loans” with the assistance of [UKB-6] were intended to cover up the misappropriation of BTA Bank’s funds by Ablyazov.”

The court dismissed the testimony of Ablyazov's accomplices and their alternative explanation of the source of the funds as “not credible”.

Matthew L. Schwartz, managing partner of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP and representative of BTA: “We were able to prove to the New York judge and jury that Mukhtar Ablyazov defrauded BTA Bank of billions of dollars and laundered stolen money in the United States. This case was an important step in BTA Bank's efforts to restore justice and was critical in bringing Ablyazov and his accomplices to responsibility. We are grateful for the careful consideration of the evidences by the jury and the United States District Court."