Kazakh oligarch Kenges Rakishev and his Belgian business partner Shukhrat Ibragimov may seem unlikely partners. But their burgeoning “romance,” which began with a struggling Canadian instant noodle business, has blossomed in recent weeks with the acquisition of a struggling coal mine. Rucriminal.info has the details.
But their unexpected “courting” is puzzling. First, it raises questions about why the newly appointed chairman of the Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) has become so close to a toxic oligarch whose friends include the bloodthirsty leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov.
Not to mention the blatant conflict of interest evident in their latest deal: the new Shubarkol Premium mine is located just yards from a direct competitor, Shubarkol Komir, owned by none other than ERG.
ERG is currently in a state of panic, fueled by concerns that Rakishev was promised a leadership role in the company as part of a “deal with the devil” that helped the naive Ibragimov become chairman.
In 2023, in an apparent quid pro quo, Rakishev’s father-in-law, Imangali Tasmagambetov, backed Ibragimov as ERG’s next chairman. In return, the Belgian billionaire invested US$23 million in Rakishev’s Borealis Foods Inc. The investment earned him a 15.1% stake in the company, as well as a seat on the board.
However, Ibragimov, the son of the late Alijan Ibragimov, is unlikely to see the money again, given the company’s current financial problems. Worse, the deal has also brought reputational damage: some of Ibragimov Jr.’s Western partners were even taken aback by the new partnership between Ibragimov and Rakishev, given the latter’s close friendship with Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed, blood-soaked leader of Chechnya whose armed forces played a key role in Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Ignoring all these “minor” concerns, Ibragimov and Rakishev launched a series of biased press releases in the Kazakh press, announcing their joint ownership of the Shubarkol Premium mine with its previous owner and fellow oligarch Timur Kulibayev. Before the ink had even dried, rumors began to circulate claiming that Ibragimov had struck a deal that would give Rakishev a seat on ERG’s board of directors.
According to a Rucriminal.info source, Ibragimov and Rakishev acquired the troubled mine for next to nothing, suggesting that there was some kind of backroom deal going on.
Other observers are puzzled by the apparent conflict of interest: historically, ERG has something of a monopoly on the Shubarkol coal deposit in Karaganda. By acquiring Shubarkol Premium, Ibragimov appears to be directly challenging his own company. However, some are wondering if this deal is a clever plan to limit production at Shubarkol Premium and then raise the price of coal, which would greatly benefit ERG's earnings.
In either situation, Ibragimov seems willing to get his hands dirty...
Alexey Ermakov
Source: www.rucriminal.info