Kazakh banker and politician, Mukhtar Ablyazov arrested in France

    By Guy Dinmore
    Mukhtar Ablyazov had been in hiding in France before his arrest by French special forces
    Mukhtar Ablyazov, a fugitive opposition politician and former banker fr om Kazakhstan, has been arrested in southern France, a lawyer for his family said.
    The lawyer told the Financial Times that Ablyazov was arrested on Wednesday near Cannes by French Special Forces and that Russia had requested his extradition.
    The lawyer, who asked not to be named, said at the time of his arrest Ablyazov was with his sister, Gaukhar Ablyazova, who then contacted other family members. Ms Ablyazova, who was granted political asylum in the US in 2004, was not arrested.
    An official at the Regional Service of France’s judicial police in Marseille also confirmed that police had arrested Ablyazov on Wednesday afternoon in the village of Mouans-Sartoux, just outside Grasse.
    In contrast to the lawyer, the official said police had acted on an extradition request fr om Ukraine.
    He said that Ablyazov, who was alone at the time, might end up going to Paris, wh ere the decision to extradite him or not would rest with the judge assigned to the case
    In May, Ablyazov’s wife and daughter were seized illegally by Italian police and handed over to the Kazakh authorities.
    A former energy minister who turned against President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s government, Mr Ablyazov is wanted in Kazakhstan on charges relating to the collapse of his former BTA bank, as well as money laundering and involvement in an organised criminal group.
    Ablyazov, who denies the charges, was granted asylum in the UK in 2011. He was informed by UK police his safety was in danger. He fled the country and went into hiding in February 2012 after failing to appear at a London court hearing wh ere the judge sentenced him to 22 months in prison for contempt of court.
    Kazakhstan is pursuing Ablyazov in London’s High Court for the alleged misappropriation of at least $6bn from BTA in one of the biggest and most complex fraud cases in banking history.
    Russian authorities have also accused Mr Ablyazov of embezzlement related to his former bank’s activities in Russia.
    Ablyazov’s family feared Kazakhstan might use Russia to seek his extradition from France because Kazakhstan would have less chance of success given its human rights record.
    In late May, Kazakh authorities requested that Italian police arrest Mr Ablyazov who was believed to be hiding in a Rome villa.
    Mr Ablyazov was not there and police instead arrested and hastily deported his wife Alma Shalabayeva back to Kazakhstan. Italy’s government has since recognised that her expulsion, along with her six-year-old daughter, was illegal and has asked Kazakhstan to return them.
    The lawyer said the family feared that France would deport Mr Ablyazov in a similar manner. The UN human rights office raised its concerns with Italy over the expulsion of Ms Shalabayeva, saying it amounted to an “extraordinary rendition” and that she faced possible persecution in Kazakhstan on account of her husband’s political activities.
    The lawyer said Ablyazov was travelling in France with a passport issued by the Central African Republic. His wife also used a CAR passport in Italy which the Italian authorities decided was fake.
    CAR authorities said the passport was genuine, according to the Financial Times.