Today, Belgium, like other EU countries, is facing an increase in migration. Our citizens have to financially support a large number of migrants for their taxes. Many of them come to Europe as asylum seekers for various reasons, including political ones.

However, it turns out that some asylum seekers may be wanted in their homeland for real crimes and therefore they cannot be considered political refugees. Nevertheless, the majority of Belgian legislation and judges continue to prioritize democratic priorities, behind which simple violators of the law can hide.

For example, in neighbouring France, the obvious criminal charges against Kazakh oligarch Mukhtar Ablyazov were dropped for political reasons, reigniting a debate about granting asylum to controversial figures under the auspices of human rights.

According to the French media Causeur, the authorities of a number of Western countries accuse the Kazakh “refugee” of major financial crimes. Independent Ukraine, for its part, also sought his extradition for embezzlement of 500 million dollars. In addition, Mr. Ablyazov and his accomplices are wanted in their homeland of Kazakhstan for withdrawing about $6 billion from BTA Bank and organizing the murder of one of their accomplices.

In 2012, the UK High Court found him guilty of contempt of court for perjury and falsification of documents. Subsequently, U.S. courts also fined Ablyazov $218 million for his questionable financial dealings.

In France, the Kazakh oligarch skillfully exploited loopholes in the legal system. Although in September 2015, Manuel Valls, the then prime minister, signed a decree authorising his extradition. But in 2020, Ablyazov was granted political asylum, which was revoked two years later. This decision was confirmed by the State Council in 2024. Nevertheless, he continues to defend his position before the French authorities, presenting himself as a victim of political persecution.

Meanwhile, the wanted Ablyazov skillfully spread a network of influence in Brussels, the political center of Europe. His supporters live here: Botagoz Jardemalie, a former lawyer at BTA Bank, and Lyudmila Kozlovskaya, a lobbyist of Russian origin.

According to the Kazakh online edition «Zakon.kz», Botagoz Jardemalie made an amazing career at BTA Bank under its leadership by M.Ablyazov. The Kazakh lady with a Western education was quickly able to gain the trust of her supervisor.

But in the 2000s, large amounts of money began to be withdrawn from BTA Bank. According to these facts, in August 2012, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Kazakhstan opened a criminal case against Jardemali for embezzlement of BTA Bank funds.

And in September 2012, the lawyer was charged with committing large-scale embezzlement of funds committed as part of an organized criminal group and issuing a deliberately irrevocable loan.

In October 2012, Jardemalie was put on the wanted list in Kazakhstan. In July 2013, she was charged with embezzlement of other people’s property and ordered to be arrested.

According to Kazakh newspapers, Jardemalie was able to travel to the UK, where she received asylum and then moved to Belgium in 2013. Now she lives freely in our country, where she has luxury apartments.

(on the photo: Mukhtar Ablyazov, Lyudmila Kozlovskaya and MEP Panzeri)

It should be noted that Mukhtar Ablyazov and his team were defended within the walls of the European Parliament as human rights activists by such European figures as former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri. Unfortunately, in December 2022, it turned out that the Italian MEP had received large amounts of money for lobbying as part of the high-profile «Qatargate» investigation. This scandal has shocked Brussels with its high rates of “human rights protection” within the walls of the European house of democracy.

In Belgium, a number of liberal media outlets also continue to defend M.Ablyazov’s associate, B.Jardemalie as a fighter for human rights.

In October 2019, her luxury apartment in the prestigious center of Brussels was raided by the Belgian police. As a result, several documents, a mobile phone and SIM cards were seized, shedding light on the corruption investigations surrounding BTA Bank.
At the same time, the investigative actions of the Prosecutor’s Office and the Belgian Ministry of Justice took place within the framework of international law and the fight against major financial crimes.

Nevertheless, B.Jardemalie’s lawyers are once again trying to make the fact of the search political. Despite the fact that the investigative actions are limited to the obvious financial investigations around BTA Bank, which we write about above.

Returning to the main character of the story, Mr. Ablyazov, it should be noted that in neighboring France he is no longer under judicial supervision.

Nevertheless, it remains at the center of a political and legal scandal that has angered some French politicians, such as Senator Natalie Goulet: why could a person whose deportation order has been lifted, even if he is an criminal oligarch, continue to reside in France?

By rejecting the claim for lack of jurisdiction, France did not acquit Mukhtar Ablyazov. The republic admitted that the rule of law does not allow the case to be considered if the plaintiff’s motives can be considered political.

This decision leaves an important question unanswered: should a man like Ablyazov continue to enjoy French protection?

Now, will Brussels, where the new government has decided to seriously fight organized crime and the influx of refugees, allow itself to do the same for his associates?