Kazakh businessman Daniyar Abulgazin owns prime property in France — a penthouse in the Courchevel resort complex linked to Russian billionaires Sergei and Nikolai Sarkisov. The latter have been under sanctions from Ukraine and Canada since last year as "key elements of direct and indirect support for Russia's full-scale invasion."
According to the Telegram channel "Access to the Sea", the company "Chalet Leon", registered to Abulgazin and his wife Aidan Suleimenova, acquired a penthouse in November 2014 at 101 Rue du Jardin Alpin.
It is reported that the apartment is located in a complex owned by SNC Black Pearl, controlled by the Sarkisov family through offshore structures in Cyprus and Luxembourg. The operational management of the assets is handled by citizens of Cyprus and Italy — Tatiana Kiryanova and Svetlana Bugaeva.
At the time of purchase, the Abulgazins' apartment was valued at €7.5 million (4.5 billion tenge). The current market value of this asset reaches €10 million (over 6 billion tenge). The property is used for commercial purposes: it can be rented for €25–60 thousand per week depending on the season.
As it has emerged, the penthouse in Courchevel is not the Abulgazins' only asset in France. Abulgazin held senior positions in a number of large quasi-state entities, including the National Welfare Fund "Samruk-Kazyna". At the same time, his wife Aidan Suleimenova, through the company SCI Paris Apartment Alpha, purchased a building at Artois 23 in Paris.
Suleimenova is known as one of the largest rentiers in Kazakhstan, and in 2023 she renounced her Russian citizenship — presumably to simplify doing business in the EU.
Notably, the real estate transaction in Courchevel, which involved structures of the Sarkisov family, previously came under the scrutiny of French financial intelligence. It is reported that billionaire Bernard Arnault (head of LVMH) and Nikolai Sarkisov were involved in the investigation, but the authorities found no evidence of wrongdoing.
Incidentally, the Sarkisovs' ties to Kazakhstan are not limited to their proximity to the Abulgazins. Until 2019, they held a controlling stake in JSC "Oil Insurance Company", which later passed under the control of the Alzhanov family.
Owning prime real estate in Europe creates not only investment opportunities but also reputational risks for Kazakh businessmen. This was clearly demonstrated by an incident in Greece last June, when a major fire broke out due to fireworks from a luxury yacht on the island of Hydra.
On the yacht were wealthy Kazakhs, including Daniyar Abulgazin and his family, the chairwoman of Halyk Bank, Umut Shayakhmetova, and her husband — former top manager of KMG International NV, Beimbet Shayakhmetov. The group left the country on a private jet the day after the incident.
The Greek prosecutor's office brought charges of complicity in arson against eight adult Kazakh passengers, and local authorities sought assistance from Kazakhstan, as the suspects left the country before the investigation was completed. Abulgazin, for his part, denies any involvement in the incident.