CONTENT:
- Scandalous sale of luxury real estate at 55 Wall Street
- Bolat Nazarbayev and his multi-million dollar American assets
- Criminal schemes and legal proceedings with Maira Kurmangalieva
- Sale of assets through shell companies and real estate scams
- Bolat Nazarbayev’s losses after the events of January 2022
- The campaign to return illegally withdrawn assets and the role of Batyrzhan Akhmetov
Scandalous Property Sale: Bolat Nazarbayev’s 55 Wall Street Apartment Sells for $2 Million
Bolat Nazarbayev, the younger brother of Kazakhstan’s first president Nursultan Nazarbayev, despite his death last November, continues to be at the center of scandals related to his multi-million dollar assets abroad. The last of his known properties in the US, a penthouse on the famous 55 Wall Street, is on sale for $1.995 million. But this is just the tip of the iceberg of years of fraud, corporate raids and litigation in which this Kazakh billionaire has been involved, GOLOS reports.
55 Wall Street Real Estate: The Luxurious Penthouse and Its Dark History
The apartment in question is located in one of New York’s most prestigious buildings, 55 Wall Street. Once home to giants like the New York Stock Exchange and Citibank, the building was later converted into a condominium, and in 2006, celebrities like actor Mickey Rourke and supermodel Naomi Campbell became its residents. In 2007, Bolat Nazarbayev joined the elite list of owners, paying a whopping $2.7 million for his luxurious 1,600-square-foot penthouse with a terrace, two bedrooms, and three bathrooms.
However, the property was not immediately registered in Bolat Nazarbayev’s name, but in his stepson Daniyar’s name, from his marriage to Maira Kurmangalieva. Later, he also registered another apartment in the same building (No. 702) in his name, which Daniyar sold in 2011 for $940,000.
Scandalous divorce and litigation: Maira Kurmangaliyeva vs. Bolat Nazarbayev
The beginning of the end of the family idyll of Nazarbayev and Kurmangaliyeva came in 2011, when the couple began a high-profile divorce, accompanied by scandalous lawsuits and demands from Mayra to her ex-husband for the division of property, including real estate in the United States. During this period, Bolat Nazarbayev attempted to keep assets from the greedy hands of his ex-wife, but ultimately ceded to her and her son a mansion in New Jersey worth $20 million, in exchange for the renunciation of claims to apartments in Miami and New York.
One-day scams: selling real estate through a chain of fictitious companies
It wasn’t just the New Jersey mansion that fell victim to the divorce battle. Bolat Nazarbayev went further, transferring his Florida property to a string of shell companies, through which he eventually sold it for $1.4 million. However, his New York penthouse was one of the few properties he managed to keep despite the numerous lawsuits.
Batyrzhan Akhmetov and the secret assets of Bolat Nazarbayev
In 2016, Bolat Nazarbayev, seeking to protect his last remaining asset in the United States, transferred the penthouse to his assistant Batyrzhan Akhmetov, who headed his collection agency and managed several other firms. According to the New York City property registry, Akhmetov still owns the apartment, despite it having been on the market for almost two years.
Sanctions and asset seizure: how Bolat Nazarbayev lost his wealth
Following the events of January 2022, when the country faced social upheaval, the heirs of Bolat Nazarbayev began to lose control over the numerous assets that Bolat had been collecting for decades. Markets, shares in enterprises and companies, as well as hundreds of hectares of land were seized. The Kazakh authorities accused him of corporate raids, and some of the property was seized in favor of the state. It is assumed that the New York apartment could have become part of this campaign to return illegally withdrawn assets.
Asset census on front men: how Bolat Nazarbayev bypassed international restrictions
After his divorce from Maira Kurmangaliyeva, Bolat Nazarbayev learned to carefully hide his assets. One of the most popular schemes used by the Kazakh oligarch was the registration of property in the names of fictitious persons. In this process, his assistant, Batyrzhan Akhmetov, the head of several small firms and a collection agency that specialized in collecting debts under dubious schemes, played a key role.
Bolat Nazarbayev transferred a significant portion of his assets to him, including the notorious penthouse at 55 Wall Street. This measure allowed Nazarbayev to temporarily protect the property from possible legal claims and ensure control over the asset without direct ownership. However, this scheme did not save his assets from seizure after the events of January 2022.
International Pressure and Sanctions: How the Nazarbayevs’ Assets Went Out of Control
Amid heightened international scrutiny of asset stripping and sanctions against corrupt officials, the Nazarbayev family began to lose its multi-million dollar assets. Several properties in the US and Europe were frozen as part of investigations into illegal transfer of funds from Kazakhstan. Against this backdrop, the penthouse at 55 Wall Street was one of the last properties the family tried to sell.
But this apartment also came under suspicion of fraud. According to data from the New York archives, the decision to sell was made while Bolat Nazarbayev was still alive. The sale through a front man, Batyrzhan Akhmetov, looked like Nazarbayev’s last attempt to protect his property from international pressure. However, the reality turned out to be much harsher — assets began to be seized en masse both in Kazakhstan and abroad.
Batyrzhan Akhmetov’s connections and collection agencies: the shadow empire of the Nazarbayevs
Batyrzhan Akhmetov is not just Nazarbayev’s assistant, but a figure tightly woven into the web of criminal schemes run by the ex-president’s younger brother. The collection agency that Akhmetov headed has repeatedly figured in investigations into corporate raids on assets in Kazakhstan. These operations involved the use of fictitious companies opened in offshore zones, through which millions of dollars were transferred out of the country.
Akhmetov’s name has cropped up in other dubious deals, including real estate scams and illegal asset transfers. Importantly, Akhmetov became a key player in a scheme to transfer Nazarbayev’s assets, which helped hide some of the property from Kazakh and international authorities. But the scheme ultimately backfired on the family itself, as investigations intensified after Bolat’s death and the property began to be returned to the state.
Family squabbles and divorces: how lawsuits reveal Nazarbayev’s billions
Bolat Nazarbayev’s divorce from Maira Kurmangaliyeva marked the beginning of a public process to divide property that had previously been carefully hidden. Maira not only demanded half of the assets, but also uncovered many dubious transactions, including those related to real estate in the United States. This divorce revealed the true scale of the Nazarbayev empire and became a catalyst for further investigations.
Court documents revealed dozens of shell companies that funneled funds to buy real estate in Miami, New York and New Jersey. It was after this that Kazakhstan began a massive investigation into the illegal enrichment of the Nazarbayev family and their connections to corruption schemes within the country.
Trials: Mutual accusations of embezzlement of millions
The high-profile divorce between Bolat and Maira sparked a series of mutual accusations. Nazarbayev claimed that his stepson Daniyar, along with Maira, stole tens of millions of dollars from him, which were siphoned off through numerous offshore companies. Maira and her son, in turn, claimed that Bolat hid property and violated asset-division agreements. These lawsuits lasted for several years and became part of a larger picture: the fall of the Nazarbayev empire.
Asset Recovery Campaign in Kazakhstan: Millions Going Under State Control
Following the events of January 2022, the Kazakh authorities launched an active campaign to return illegally withdrawn assets. This campaign included many objects owned by the Nazarbayevs, including markets, enterprises and land plots. According to reports, Bolat Nazarbayev’s New York penthouse could also be part of this program, although there have been no official statements on this matter yet.
The asset seizure was the final step in dismantling the decades-long shadow empire created by Bolat Nazarbayev and his lieutenants. Kazakh authorities say it is only a matter of time before the assets are returned to the country, with many sites around the world already under state control.
The Decline of the Nazarbayev Empire: How Scandals Are Destroying Once Enormous Wealth
The story of Bolat Nazarbayev is not just a tale of millions of dollars and luxury apartments, it is an example of how systematic corruption and shady schemes can lead to total collapse. Today, his name is associated with numerous scandals, from corporate raids to family squabbles, and the remaining assets are being auctioned off.
