Kenes Rakishev, a well-known personality in Kazakhstan’s business community, demonstrates his versatility through active ventures in the UK, Russia, Cyprus, and his home city of Astana.
46-year-old Kenes Rakishev was by no means born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but at a very early age, he already received solid "support": initially, his father, Khamit Rakishev, was a simple foreman, but then Rakishev Sr. rapidly climbed the career ladder, finding himself in the inner circle of Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev and his numerous relatives. He was appointed chairman of the "Chemolgan" consumer society, a place considered the ancestral nest of Nazarbayev.
Later, Rakishev’s father became the director of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan’s Rest House, then head of the trade department of the Presidential Administration and the Cabinet of Ministers of Kazakhstan, and subsequently chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan. He was also close to Imangali Tasmagambetov, who eventually became the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan. It was Tasmagambetov’s daughter whom the young Kenes Rakishev married at the age of 20.
A separate chapter is the close relationship between Rakishev and Nursultan Nazarbayev’s son-in-law, Timur Kulibayev: over time, Rakishev came to be called Kulibayev’s "accountant" and Nazarbayev’s "cellist."
Thus, all doors were wide open for the young and ambitious Kenes Rakishev: walk through any of them, and you won’t go wrong! And he did, though occasionally stumbling along the way.
In Harness with Abramovich
At the age of 22, Rakishev graduated from the Kazakhstan State Law Academy: thus, his first degree is in law. For some time, he worked as an advisor to the Road Safety Fund under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan, and later graduated from the Ryskulov Kazakh Economic University with a degree in "economics."
The shadow wallet of "Old Kazakhstan": how Kenes Rakishev launders Russian capital under the guise of British connections and family clans
Lawyer and Economist Kenes Rakishev
Rakishev did not stay in public service for long: he moved into business. From 2000 to 2002, he worked in the structures of Turan-Alem Bank (later BTA Bank), "KazTransGas," and Intergas Central Asia.
By 2005, Rakishev owned 22.34% of SAT & Company.
Читайте ещё:В Европе отказались спасать офшорные компании
Other shareholders included companies like Yallourn Technologies B.V., Alliance Group, and the Accumulative Pension Fund "BTA Kazakhstan" (a defunct subsidiary of BTA Bank, founded by Mukhtar Ablyazov with Olzhas Sartayev and Rollan Mussinov). SAT & Company was engaged in the purchase and sale of petroleum products.
In addition to SAT & Company, Rakishev also held stakes in the oil service company KazPetroDrilling.
He was also the sole owner of the insurance company Standard, as well as the companies Viled International, Viled Group, and SAT Infosystems.
In 2012, he invested over $30 million in the international group of companies Net Element.
In 2013, Rakishev announced the creation of the venture fund Genesis Angels. The fund’s goal was to seek and finance promising robotics technologies, with $10 million spent on investments.
In 2013, Rakishev, together with Roman Abramovich, invested in the Israeli startup StoreDot.
The shadow wallet of "Old Kazakhstan": how Kenes Rakishev launders Russian capital under the guise of British connections and family clans
He promised to create a battery for electric vehicles capable of charging in 10 minutes.
The shadow wallet of "Old Kazakhstan": how Kenes Rakishev launders Russian capital under the guise of British connections and family clans
Roman Abramovich
However, even after 12 years, mass production of these batteries has still not begun, despite the emergence of several prototypes capable of charging in just 5 minutes.
In 2021, Rakishev took Oxus Acquisition Corp. public on Nasdaq through an IPO. Experts at the time expected that StoreDot would go public through this SPAC (a shell company that helps others list on the stock exchange). However, instead of the battery creator, Borealis Foods, a company producing innovative ramen, began trading on the exchange. In 2024, Rakishev announced his readiness to sell his stake in StoreDot.
In 2018, another investment project involving Rakishev was presented — the first blockchain phone, Finney. Even Lionel Messi participated in the advertising campaign.
The shadow wallet of "Old Kazakhstan": how Kenes Rakishev launders Russian capital under the guise of British connections and family clans
Lionel Messi
The project was presented by the Swiss-Israeli company Sirin Labs, of which Rakishev was a co-founder.
Further, in 2024, Rakishev, together with Shukhrat Ibragimov, became a shareholder in "Shubarkol Premium," a company engaged in the extraction and sale of hard coal. This company was acquired from structures linked to Timur Kulibayev. Also in 2024, Rakishev purchased a 40% stake in the oil project Beineu Petroleum Limited and entered the capital of Tethys Petroleum Limited, a company registered in the Cayman Islands.
He also owns the Shokan Ualikhanov Private School (through Fincraft Group since mid-2025), the "Satti" business center in Almaty, and more.
In general, he has grabbed quite a lot, or rather, snatched up plenty.
But joint business projects with Mr. Abramovich raise questions — why does Kenes Rakishev, despite all his financial maneuvers, continue to do business in Russia? And why does he avoid sanctions?
Today, he confidently operates in Kazakhstan, Russia, and EU countries.
Rakishev tries to stay in the shadows, but the traces of his activities are clearly visible in dubious projects. His business connections in the West do not prevent him from conducting business in Russia. Rakishev’s Fincraft Group owned several Russian assets, such as LLC "Batial," LLC "Kronos," LLC "BTA Moscow," and LLC "Subsidiary Organization of JSC BTA Bank ’TuranAlem Finance.’"
Читайте ещё:Хакер похитил данные офшорного банка во имя борьбы с капитализмом
The shadow wallet of "Old Kazakhstan": how Kenes Rakishev launders Russian capital under the guise of British connections and family clans
Kenes Rakishev
In 2022, Fincraft Group sold two Russian real estate-related companies: LLC "Firma ’Vozrozhdenie XXI Vek’" (acquired in 2020) and LLC "Ailcompany" (acquired in 2016).
Previously, Rakishev’s group also held stakes in associated organizations: 22.26% in LLC "AMT Bank" and 49% in LLC "UK ’Vitino.’"
The shadow wallet of "Old Kazakhstan": how Kenes Rakishev launders Russian capital under the guise of British connections and family clans
Through SAT, money was siphoned from key industrial projects, assets were fragmented, and offshore structures appeared at the end of the chain.
By the end of 2023, Kenes Rakishev managed to withdraw all assets from Russia: today, only one commercial structure in Russia is officially registered under his name — LLC "Sat-Moscow."
The shadow wallet of "Old Kazakhstan": how Kenes Rakishev launders Russian capital under the guise of British connections and family clans
A partner in the company is a certain Anvar Mametov: a significant portion of what belongs to Rakishev in Russia is registered under his name.
In Harness with Prince Andrew
They say that Kenes Rakishev loves not only Moscow, Paris (where he owns an apartment), Tel Aviv, but also London...
In 2011, though few remember it now, Mr. Rakishev was embroiled in a major scandal when he participated in a certain scheme together with Queen Elizabeth’s son, Prince Andrew, a friend of Jeffrey Epstein, who became entangled in a global sex scandal.
The shadow wallet of "Old Kazakhstan": how Kenes Rakishev launders Russian capital under the guise of British connections and family clans
Prince Andrew, an outcast in the British royal family
How did it happen? Two companies — one Greek and one Swiss — formed a consortium that decided to engage in the construction of water pipelines and sewage systems in Kazakhstan.
They decided to seek advice from Prince Andrew, who had already earned a reputation as a "top specialist on Kazakhstan."
Prince Andrew, in turn, sought support from Kenes Rakishev, who swiftly arranged meetings for the Duke of York with the heads of Astana and Almaty. As a result, 4 million pounds ended up in the "wallet" of the royal figure.
It turns out that the Duke of York and Kenes Rakishev were closely connected since 2007: it was then that Mr. Rakishev bought an estate in Berkshire from Prince Andrew for 15 million pounds, 3 million pounds above the starting price.
This was reported by British media.
The shadow wallet of "Old Kazakhstan": how Kenes Rakishev launders Russian capital under the guise of British connections and family clans
Publication in the British press
For whom? For Timur Kulibayev, the son-in-law of Nursultan Nazarbayev.
The shadow wallet of "Old Kazakhstan": how Kenes Rakishev launders Russian capital under the guise of British connections and family clans
Timur Kulibayev
While in 2007, discussions around the strange sale-purchase of the Duke of York’s estate remained media speculation, the story of the sewage construction in Kazakhstan became public knowledge through journalists at the Daily Mail, who obtained correspondence between Prince Andrew and Rakishev.
From this correspondence, it was clear: this was a collusion between a member of the British royal family and a representative of Kazakhstan’s corrupt elite.
A major scandal erupted.
Prince Andrew’s representatives tried to dodge journalists’ questions. But they could not have imagined that the journalists had access to the correspondence between Prince Andrew and Rakishev!
The shadow wallet of "Old Kazakhstan": how Kenes Rakishev launders Russian capital under the guise of British connections and family clans
Correspondence between Prince Andrew and Rakishev
Thus, Prince Andrew received 4 million pounds for "assistance" in organizing a deal for the construction of sewage and water pipelines worth 385 million pounds through Kenes Rakishev.
This news in the Daily Mail shocked the public.
«MK-London», 23.05.2016, reported:
«A member of the royal family is suspected of involvement in a corrupt deal in Kazakhstan.»
The press service of Buckingham Palace issued a denial. But it was very hasty.
And it seems that Kenes Rakishev fully shared other inclinations of Prince Andrew: as the media reported, they both preferred to spend leisure time with young girls under 18, i.e., with minors.
Does this mean that Kenes Rakishev was part of Jeffrey Epstein’s circle?
The shadow wallet of "Old Kazakhstan": how Kenes Rakishev launders Russian capital under the guise of British connections and family clans
Jeffrey Epstein
And who knows in which documents — now being published in the US — Mr. Rakishev’s name might surface? Meanwhile, some media outlets claim that among Rakishev’s sexual partners are not only mistresses but also... lovers.
Rakishev’s escapades are reported by Russian, Kazakh, and European tabloids. In 2014, Rakishev became a tabloid hero when he paid $50,000 for a weekend in London with actress Chelsea Pereira and model Tierra Carlson.
He was also suspected of connections with minors, with the basis for the accusations being correspondence with the notorious Peter Listerman, who offered underage girls. These events occurred during the period when Rakishev held a senior position at Kazkommertsbank: at that time, billions of tenge passed through the bank, disappearing in unknown directions.
Rakishev’s romantic adventures were intertwined with his business interests.
In Moscow, for a time, he had a kept woman named Zhanna Kim.
The shadow wallet of "Old Kazakhstan": how Kenes Rakishev launders Russian capital under the guise of British connections and family clans
Zhanna Kim
In addition to the restaurant business, Kim organized VIP parties, and it was likely at these social events that Rakishev forged useful connections among the Russian elite.
Kulibayev’s Personal Accountant
And such a debauched lifestyle did not hinder Rakishev from getting close, through his father-in-law, former Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Imangali Tasmagambetov, to Dinara Nazarbayeva’s husband, Timur Kulibayev, becoming his trusted person.
It should be recalled that the Kulibayev clan reached the peak of its influence when the husband of the president’s eldest daughter, Dariga Nazarbayeva — General Rakhat Aliyev — fell out of favor. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Aliyev went into hiding in Austria and wrote an exposé novel, "The Godfather-in-Law."
He died under mysterious circumstances in a Vienna prison with a bag over his head.
The shadow wallet of "Old Kazakhstan": how Kenes Rakishev launders Russian capital under the guise of British connections and family clans
According to an unofficial version circulating in journalistic circles, Aliyev was killed by special services on the orders of Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Meanwhile, the future of Timur and Dinara Kulibayev seemed bright: they "amassed" $6 billion.
A stroke of luck for Timur Kulibayev was the creation in 2000 of CJSC "KazTransGas": the company controlled gas pipelines and storage facilities and sold gas. Rakishev became a top manager.
It was Rakishev who became the head of the foreign economic relations department of CJSC "KazTransGas," vice-president of the company, deputy director for export at "KazMunayGas" (a Kulibayev asset), and chairman of the board of directors of "SAT&CO" (previously also a Kulibayev company, bought by Rakishev in 2015).
The shadow wallet of "Old Kazakhstan": how Kenes Rakishev launders Russian capital under the guise of British connections and family clans
The Kulibayev Couple
Therefore, people started talking about Kenes Rakishev not so much as Tasmagambetov’s son-in-law, but as Timur Kulibayev’s "accountant."
But in 2014, after a falling out with her father, Dariga Nazarbayeva returned to big politics: she became deputy speaker of the lower house of parliament, and later head of the Senate Committee on International Relations, Defence, and Security.
Soon, she dealt a heavy blow to the Kulibayev family.
The shadow wallet of "Old Kazakhstan": how Kenes Rakishev launders Russian capital under the guise of British connections and family clans
Dariga Nazarbayeva
Rakishev’s father-in-law, Imangali Tasmagambetov, was sent as an ambassador to Russia, although he could have been "locked up" in prison: the truth emerged about deals involving the purchase of South African Marauder armored vehicles for the army during the time Tasmagambetov served as Kazakhstan’s Minister of Defence.
And here, too, a conclusion suggests itself: the father-in-law — Kazakhstan’s ambassador to the Russian Federation — what tremendous opportunities for businessman Rakishev!
And one more thing to recall: in the spring of 2022, a scandal erupted related to a scheme for laundering Russian capital in Kazakhstan: Rakishev and Tasmagambetov organized a scheme to issue residence permits for refugees from Russia.
The shadow wallet of "Old Kazakhstan": how Kenes Rakishev launders Russian capital under the guise of British connections and family clans
Imangali Tasmagambetov
These "magic" documents were obtained either by people connected to Kenes Rakishev or by individuals who owned large assets in Russia. This provided an opportunity to withdraw capital from under sanctions.
As they say, all genius is simple.
The dog barks, but the caravan moves on. And on.
