High Court sentences Ablyazov to 22 months in jail

The courts have already heard three cases of embezzlement out of BTA Bank. As a result 18 persons were found guilty of thefts. 46 more criminal cases of embezzlement by Ablyazov and his accomplices are under investigation. Ablyazov is now the subject of eight legal claims totaling more than USD 5 billion, press service of the Prosecutor General's Office told Kazinform.

In October 2011 the High Court in London sentenced Paul Kythreotis to 21 months in prison for contempt of court. Kythreotis is one of the main accomplices of Ablyazov. Through his Cyprus-based business Kythreotis directed a network of Ablyazov-controlled offshore companies. Kythreotis and his employees fraudulently directed funds away from BTA to a dozen shell companies.

Yesterday the High Court in London found Ablyazov guilty of hiding information from the court and sentenced him to three terms of imprisonment. These three terms of imprisonment are executed in parallel, i.e. Ablyazov is finally sentenced to 22 months in prison. The court issued a warrant for his arrest.