Time line

Date | Event |
---|---|
May 2005 – February 2009 | As Chairman of BTA Bank, Mr Ablyazov is alleged to have presided over the fraudulent misappropriation of billions of dollars of the Bank’s assets. |
February 2009 | Due to significant holes in the balance sheet, BTA Bank is nationalised. Mr Ablyazov flees to London. |
13 August 2009 | BTA Bank brings the first of 11 civil claims against Mr Ablyazov and his associates in the English High Court. |
13 August 2009 | Mr Justice Blair grants the Bank an injunction freezing Mr Ablyazov’s assets and requiring Mr Ablyazov to surrender his passports and remain in the United Kingdom. |
September 2009 | Mr Justice Blair rejects an appeal against the Order made by Mr Ablyazov and six of his associates. |
October - November 2009 | Mr Ablyazov fails to adequately disclose his assets to the Court. Mr Justice Teare describes Mr Ablyazov’s disclosure “extraordinarily inadequate” and orders that he be cross-examined. |
Date | Event |
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July – October 2010 | Stating that “this is an extraordinary case”, Mr Justice Teare rules that Mr Ablyazov’s frozen assets should be put in receivership because he could not “trust” Mr Ablyazov to comply with the Freezing Order. The Court of Appeal upholds this Order, referring to the “measurable risk” that Mr Ablyazov could breach its terms. |
Late 2010 - early 2011 | The Bank obtains search and disclosure orders against Mr Ablyazov and his associates. The search and disclose process results in the discovery of documentation demonstrating that Mr Ablyazov has a vast secret network of undisclosed companies and assets. These companies and assets are added to the Receivership Order, which is extended to over 600 companies. |
Date | Event |
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18 May 2011 | The Bank institutes committal proceedings against Mr Ablyazov. |
Date | Event |
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15 February 2012 | Mr Ablyazov flees the jurisdiction. It is suspected that he leaves Britain by bus to France. |
16 February 2012 | Mr Justice Teare finds Mr Ablyazov guilty of contempt of court and sentences him to 22 month imprisonment. |
29 February 2012 | Mr Justice Teare orders that unless Mr Ablyazov provides full and proper disclosure and surrenders himself to the Court, he will be debarred from defending the claims brought against him by the Bank (the ‘Unless Orders’). Mr Ablyazov fails to comply with these orders. |
2-4 July 2012 | Mr Ablyazov appeals the committal judgment and Unless Orders in the Court of Appeal. |
19 October 2012 | Mr Ablyazov appeals to Mr Justice Teare that he recuse himself from the trial on the grounds of “appearance of bias”. |
1 November 2012 | The recusal application, judged to be “at almost the last possible moment” by Mr Justice Teare, is denied. Mr Justice Teare comments that he is “not persuaded that there is even a real doubt… that I would be biased when deciding the issues at trial. His lies on oath are a fact which cannot be ignored. My approach would be no different from that of any other judge who heard the actions.” |
6 November 2012 | The Court of Appeal unanimously upholds the judgments against Ablyazov. Lord Justice Maurice Kay comments: “It is difficult to imagine a party to commercial litigation who has acted with more cynicism, opportunism and deviousness towards court orders than Mr Ablyazov”. |
7 November 2012 | The Bank begins the trials of 3 of the 11 claims against Ablyazov and his associates – the Granton, Drey and Chrysopa proceedings. |
23 November 2012 | The Court enters default judgment against Mr Ablyazov in the Drey and DCM proceedings for approximately $2.1 billion. The Court also grants judgment against Roman Solodchenko, former Chairman of BTA's Management Board, in the amount of approximately US $400 million in the Drey proceedings. |
Date | Event |
---|---|
26 February 2013 | The Supreme Court refuses Mr Ablyazov’s application for permission to appeal the Unless Orders. |
19 March 2013 | Mr Justice Teare granted further judgments in the Drey, Granton and Vitino proceedings. This included a judgement against one of Ablyazov’s associates, Zhaksylyk Zharimbetov, in the Drey and Granton actions in the amount of approximately $1.5million. |
19 April 2013 | Mr Justice Teare enters judgment against Mr Ablyazov in the Granton proceedings for approximately $1.5 billion. |
21 May 2013 | The High Court issued a final charging order authorising KPMG receivers to sell three of Ablyazov’s luxury UK properties. |
5 July 2013 | The High Court judge, Mr Justice Popplewell makes the rare decision to refuse Ablyazov’s lawyers the right to make oral arguments because he [Mr Ablyazov] has done everything in his power to “impede the course of justice” and to prevent the bank from “recovering from him the money that he has stolen.” |
31 July 2013 | Ablyazov is arrested in Cannes, France by French special forces. |
August 2013 | Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Russia request Ablyazov’s extradition from France. |
22 August 2013 | Ablyazov is denied bail by a French court. |
3 October 2013 | Ablyazov’s second bail application is rejected by the French court. He will remain in French prison until his extradition hearing. |
18 October 2013 | Ablyazov’s brother-in-law, Salim Shalabayev, is sentenced to 22 months imprisonment for contempt of court by the English High Court. Salim remains in hiding. |
26 November 2013 | Ablyazov is found to have committed fraud in the AAA Proceedings and is ordered to pay almost $400 million in damages. In his judgment, Mr Justice Henderson concluded that Mr Ablyazov's defence to the Bank's claims was variously "implausible", "untenable" and "frankly incredible". The bank has now been granted over $4 billion in damages. Judgment. |
Date | Event |
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9 January 2014 | The Court in Aix-en-Provence granted both Russia and Ukraine’s requests to extradite Ablyazov. Mr Ablyazov appealed that decision. |
9 April 2014 | The French Court of Appeal annulled the decision to extradite Ablyazov to Russia or Ukraine, based on an administrative error made by the first Court in Aix-en-Provence. The extradition requests are now being heard afresh by the Court of Lyon. |
8 August 2014 | TUK High Court ordered Mr Ablyazov’s lawyers to disclose documents relating to his assets that were previously withheld on the basis of legal professional privilege on the basis that Mr Ablyazov used them to further his fraudulent purposes. Mr. Justice Popplewell held that Mr Ablyazov has "been bent on a strategy of concealment and deceit" and noted that his solicitors are "likely to hold documents casting light on Mr. Ablyazov's… beneficially owned assets which may assist the Bank in executing its judgments and enforcing the Court's order against them." Judgment |
6 October 2014 | Mr Ablyazov’s third bail application is denied by the Court of Lyon. The reason bail was rejected was because the defence could not provide sufficient guarantees that Mr Ablyazov would not abscond. |
24 October 2014 | The Court of Lyon granted both Russia and Ukraine’s requests to extradite Mr Ablyazov. He has stated his intention to appeal the decision. |
Date | Event |
---|---|
4th March 2015 | The French Court of Cassation rejects Mr Ablyazov’s appeal, upholding the Court of Lyon’s ruling for extradition to Russia or Ukraine. |
28th July 2015 | Mr Ablyazov’s brother-in-law, Salim Shalabayev, is arrested in Lithuania on an Interpol Red Notice from Ukraine. |
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