London Court of Appeals upheld ruling to jail and debar Mukhtar Ablyazov

Mukhtar Ablyazov lost his appeals in the Court of Appeals against rulings of judge Nigel Teare of London’s High Court on November 6, Tengrinews.kz reports citing BTA Bank’s press-service. One of the court's decisions that Ablyazov appealed against sentenced him to 22 months in prison for contempt of court because he failed to disclose his assets. The other required him to turn himself in to the relevant authorities and make proper disclosure of his assets or forfeit the right to defend eight of the claims against him brought by BTA Bank, with a combined value of over $6 billion, according to the press-service. “Mr Ablyazov has been unconscionable in his refusal to abide by the orders of the court. […] It cannot be just or fair, or proportionate, to permit a contemnor to avoid the consequences of his contempt by the expedient of disappearing from sight (but not from the ability to communicate with his lawyers)……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,” the court is quoted by The Lawyer as saying on November 6. The Court of Appeals ruling against Ablyazov is expected to speed up recovery of assets he misappropriated from the bank. “The Bank will now seek to enter judgment against Mr Ablyazov and commence enforcement against his assets,” the press-service writes. “We welcome today’s decision upholding the English High Court’s judgment against Mr Ablyazov, requiring him to return to England and serve his prison sentence and finally to reveal all of his assets or forfeit his right to defend the proceedings against him. The Court’s decision against Mr Ablyazov reinforces the Bank’s belief that bringing these proceedings was the most legitimate, transparent, and effective way to recover misappropriated assets, and we remain committed to the process. It is also a ringing endorsement of the allegations of dishonesty that the bank has been pursuing against Mr Ablyazov since 2009,” Pavel Prosyankin, BTA Bank Managing Director overseeing the asset recovery process and Member of the Management Board of the bank, said. According to the press-service, Ablyazov fled England in February after his sentence was announced. BTA Bank than pursued the court to issue two rulings against the ex-chairman.