Persecuted for embezzlement in his native country, Kazakh businessman Mokhtar Abalazov Now lives in France, where he was granted political refugee status. At the same time, he is the subject of an indictment by French justice. He gave it to the daily on 30 April 2021 world An interview in which he denounced a political cabal led by French officials. Not without approximation and untruth.

Let us recall the first facts: Between 2005 and 2009, Mukhtar Abliyazov headed the board of directors of BTA, the third largest bank in Kazakhstan, of which he owned more than 70%. Sentenced in absentia for embezzled money to the tune of $ 7 billion, he has since embarked on a lengthy exile that saw him settle in the United Kingdom before settling his suitcase in France. Meanwhile, he was ordered by a British court to pay $ 4 billion for damages to BTA, a decision he refused to submit. No less than three countries are now calling for his extradition in connection with this huge embezzlement.

It is now up to the French justice to look into the Abliyazov case. On the basis of a provision of the Penal Code (Article 113-8-1), which prohibits individuals from being unaffiliated with crimes, French authorities are in fact competent to judge the case. Cecil Meyer-Fabre, a French investigative judge seized by the Paris prosecutor’s office, applied this principle of “extradition or judge”, prompting the former oligarch to “breach of trust” and “money laundering” decided to. believe’.

Baseless allegations against the president of the republic

In an interview to Le Monde, Mr. Abliazov accused the French state of being behind this indictment, with Emmanuel Macron lending will to appease the Kazakh authorities. He puts forward the economic interests that pushed justice into “remote control” to cause his extradition to Elysée. Allegations that are not based on any concrete element, except for a letter addressed by Kasmi-Jomart Tokave, to its French counterpart, the letter in which the mention “problem” is made of Ablizov.

It has been twelve years since Mr. Abliyazov has been presented as a refugee by the authorities of his country for purely political reasons. Problem: One who calls himself the leader of the opposition feels that there is no official support within the opposition parties in Kazakhstan, if we believe his speeches on social networks. Finally, the DVK movement he created was recognized as extremist in the aftermath of the militant riots, as was his new “Koshe Partiaceae” movement. Capitalizing on sympathy by Alexei Navalny with Vladimir Putin’s opponents (and on a certain confusion between the countries of the former Soviet bloc), Abliazov played the persecuted opponent’s card with ease.

world The title of his article recognizes this thesis by choosing to give it the status, where we can only talk of running the financial criminal. “Abliyazov conspires against all courts that decide to prosecute him »Specify Lawyers for Bank BTA. «He carried out similar communications operations in Kazakhstan, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and now France. If some people may believe that Ablizov was reliable in the beginning, then it is not serious today.».

Independent justice

Regarding the law, and suspicion against the President of the Republic, it should be remembered that the courts in France are independent. By no means was Elysée able to interfere with Cecil Meyer-Fabre in his decision. The way the head of state did not say in the verdict was taken after an initial denial by the National Court of Asylum (CNDA) to the Refugees and the Stateless Protection for Protection of Refugee and Stateless Persons (OFPRA), so that Ablaziev refugees Can be given the status of.

This decision could have been taken without the rule that systematically translating the loss of the foreign businessman also, in both cases, testified to the independence of the courts responsible for governance. In any event, there can be no contradiction between the decision, which for one, falls under administrative law and the other under criminal law. Solved by world, The Paris court indicated that ” The process follows its normal curriculum »

For their part, the banks specify the lawyers of the BTA “On the merits of the allegations, Mr. Abliyazov did not say anything with surprise “. According to him, “BTA” Only embezzlement money is expected to be recovered ”.