Why has businessman Timur Turlov come under foreign investigation but still maintains his reputation in Kazakhstan? Blogger Ilyas Myngassarov attempted to find an answer to this question:

Controlled Media of Turlov

«Recently, CNBC reported that the US Department of Justice and SEC have initiated an investigation into Freedom Holding. Finally, it’s about time. However, in Turlov’s controlled media outlet, kursiv.media, he continues to claim that there’s nothing to worry about. He suggests that regulators are obligated to investigate all signals, even if it’s just a smear campaign. He dismisses Hindenburg Research’s publication as a smear campaign and disinformation.

I’m genuinely puzzled — why is Turlov and his company so actively giving interviews to Kazakhstani media while the fate of the company is being decided in American jurisdiction? In particular, CNBC states that Freedom Holding declined to comment. Instead, they engage in self-praise through their controlled outlets like lsm.kz and kursiv.media. They’ve even brought in heavy artillery in the form of Denis Krivosheev and call it ‘effective communication.’ Mr. Turlov, your communication specialists are seriously deceiving you. You should let them go.

Questions for Turlov’s Admirers

Now, for Turlov’s defenders and those who consider him a domestic business genius, I’d like to pose a few questions.

Do you genuinely believe the tale that a young, brilliant financier arrived in Kazakhstan in 2011 and, thanks to his business talents, established his company? This was during the height of the Nazarbayev era and his family’s influence. Is it really that simple that our local, greedy oligarchs just handed him a significant piece of the pie?

Do you truly think it was so easy to break free from Putin’s Russia? To renounce citizenship, sell your Russian business at market value, and freely talk about loving Ukraine? Tinkov tried to do that and ended up selling his bank for a pittance. Oligarchs from the «Alpha-Group» spent millions on lobbying, published articles about their dire situation in London, and tried to seek protection in the UK. Ultimately, they had to return to Moscow to Putin.

But for Turlov, everything seems possible. In Kazakhstan, he was welcomed with open arms, and our oligarchs voluntarily gave him an honorary spot in Forbes’ rankings.

Nothing happens without a reason, folks. Don’t be naive.»