Fugitive Kazakh Banker Loses Final Appeal in UK

The UK Supreme Court has rejected former BTA Chairman Mukhtar Ablyazov’s last-chance appeal of a judgment prohibiting him from defending himself against BTA Bank’s claims due to serious contempt of the court and failure to turn himself into British authorities, according to a copy of the order obtained by RAPSI Tuesday. Notably, an appeal representing his interests has been filed by Ablyazov’s attorneys although the man himself remains missing. According to the order, Ablyazov’s appeal failed to “raise an arguable point of law of general public importance which ought to be considered by the Supreme Court at this time.” The court further ordered Ablyazov to pay BTA’s legal costs in connection with the appeal. BTA Bank Managing Director Pavel Prosyankin lauded the decision in a statement issued Tuesday: “Today’s decision marks the end of Mr Ablyazov’s legal manoeuvring and will expedite the enforcement of the significant judgments we have won. The Supreme Court’s decision reinforces the Bank’s ability to start to reverse the processes by which Mr Ablyazov fraudulently diverted assets from the Bank. We remain committed to the process to help restore the Bank’s financial standing which was devastated by Mr Ablyazov’s actions.” BTA’s case against Ablyazov was launched in early 2009 after the Kazakh government acquired a stake in BTA and the bank came under the control of its Samruk-Kazyna Sovereign Fund. Its by-then former chairman Ablyazov fled the country at that point, heading to the UK. Since then, BTA Bank has filed 11 claims against its former chairman, totaling approximately $6 billion.

http://www.rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20130226/266535432.html