Halyk Bank has parted ways with its subsidiaries in Russia, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. The reasons behind this move remain unclear. However, it is evident that the main shareholders of the banking giant, Timur and Dinara Kulibayev, are aligning with their financial interests, reports Nege.kz.

A notification appeared on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange stating that Halyk Bank has entered into an agreement to sell its entire stake in its subsidiary bank in Kyrgyzstan. The financial institution was acquired by Visor International DMCC. The Visor Group belongs to Aidan Karibzhanov, a Kazakhstani businessman, who has collaborated with Timur Kulibayev for many years. However, the specific amount of the transaction has not been disclosed. These details will only become known after the publication of the bank’s financial report for 2023.

Earlier this year, the Halyk Group also completed the sale of its subsidiary bank in Russia, Moskommertsbank. The transaction amount was 7.3 billion tenge, equivalent to $15.8 million. The bank was purchased by structures owned by businessman Dmitry Pumpiansky.

At the end of 2022, Halyk Bank transferred its branch to the International Bank of Tajikistan. As of June 30, 2023, the bank’s assets reached 14.2 trillion tenge, with a network of 570 branches under its belt. After selling banks in three countries, Kulibayev now only owns subsidiary companies in Georgia and Uzbekistan.

Previously, it was mentioned that the assets belonging to the oligarch began to decline in value. Joint Resources Holding, previously known for its stable financial results and profitability, reported a loss of 127.6 billion tenge for the year 2022. By the end of the year, the holding’s accounts dwindled to just 11 million tenge.

Where are these funds going? It is no longer a secret that Timur Askaruly has begun transferring money from his companies to personal accounts. For instance, as dividends, he withdrew 35.6 billion tenge from Joint Resources, 142.1 billion tenge from Kaspiy Neft Company, and 20.9 billion tenge from the giant Shubarkol Premium. These are all legitimate dividends received as a shareholder.

However, the policy of retaining dividends for the development of companies within their own portfolio does not seem obvious in Kulibayev’s case. The new trend involves maximizing profits from assets and withdrawing funds. Observing this, we can speculate that Timur Askaruly will continue to play a game that, unfortunately, is no longer in Kazakhstan.

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