By Ivan Anderzhanov in Moscow
The English High Court has granted troubled Kazakh bank BTA a worldwide freezing injunction against the assets of former chairman Mukhtar Ablyazov and other former top managers.
The bank said in a press statement that it has started legal proceedings in the High Court against Ablyazov, Roman Solodchenko, the former chairman of its management board and Zhaksylyk Zharimbetov, the former first deputy chairman of its management board.
All three have fled Kazakhstan, avoiding arrest by the financial police, and are now living in England.
On August 13, the assets of Ablyazov, Solodchenko and Zharimbetov, three English individuals and one English company believed to have been assisting them, were frozen.
This was on the basis of evidence put to the court that they have defrauded the bank of close to $300m through a series of questionable agreements entered into last year in favour of a company in which these former managers secretly held an interest.
Through these legal proceedings, BTA said it is seeking to recover the money paid out under those agreements.
BTA has warned investors that a failure to restructure its $13bn in debt could lead to its bankruptcy. Its creditors face haircuts of 55% to 97% depending on the bank’s losses this year and whether trade finance is included in the scheme.
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