The Ministry of Justice plans to reclaim property illegally acquired by Maxim Bakiev.
The authorities of Kyrgyzstan have decided to go to court in France regarding the castle that belonged to the late Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky. This was reported by the Telegram channel "Eurasian Briefing".
The legal proceedings were initiated by the Ministry of Justice of the country with the aim of returning property that was illegally acquired by Maxim Bakiev, the son of former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev.
The court proceedings are likely to take a long time, and the outcome remains uncertain, as the result depends on the decisions of the French judiciary.
The "Château de la Garoupe," located on the Cap Antibes in the famous "billionaires' bay," was temporarily registered in Berezovsky's name by Maxim Bakiev. After the oligarch's death in 2013, Maxim Bakiev was unable to reclaim the property, and it remained ownerless.
Currently, the process of reclaiming this luxurious property is led by Ayaz Bayetov, the Minister of Justice of Kyrgyzstan.
It is worth noting that Maxim Bakiev acquired the villa during his father's rule, but the date and amount of the transaction are not disclosed. It is known that Berezovsky became the owner of the castle in 1996, paying 8.4 million euros for it. This villa is located in southeastern France on a plot of land exceeding 100,000 square meters, with access to the sea. In 2001, Berezovsky also purchased a neighboring villa and plot of land, with a total cost of nearly 13 million euros, and all of Berezovsky's property in this region was estimated at around 74 million euros.
After Berezovsky's death in March 2013, French authorities began an investigation into his assets. In 2015, a criminal court in Marseille sentenced French realtor Jean-Louis Borda to two years of probation and decided to confiscate the castle, as it was purchased with money obtained through criminal means.
French justice took ten years to untangle the schemes related to the purchase of this property, and in 2015, all assets previously owned by Berezovsky were confiscated.
In 2023, the agency for managing seized assets in France put part of Berezovsky's property up for auction, and in 2024, the "Château de la Garoupe" was sold to American entrepreneur Jan Koum for 65 million euros.
After the overthrow of Kurmanbek Bakiev in April 2010, 47 properties and companies belonging to former high-ranking officials were nationalized in Kyrgyzstan. Of these, 25 properties remained under state management, while decisions were made to alienate 22 properties. The income from the sale of nationalized assets amounted to over 200 million soms.
Kurmanbek Bakiev came to power in Kyrgyzstan in the spring of 2005 after the "Tulip Revolution," replacing Askar Akayev, who had been president for five years. In 2010, in an attempt to suppress popular protests, Bakiev ordered the shooting of demonstrators, resulting in the deaths of 84 people and injuries to 1,500 others. As a result of the "April Revolution" in 2010, Bakiev and his family left the country and are believed to be hiding in Belarus.
In Kyrgyzstan, he was sentenced in absentia to 24 years in prison and was placed on the international wanted list. The country's authorities are also pursuing members of his family associated with the "Bakiev clan."
If Kyrgyzstan succeeds in reclaiming the property in France, it could become the largest deal in the history of the nationalization of the Bakiev family's assets, significantly exceeding all previous revenues from the sale of confiscated assets, considering that the last transaction price was 65 million euros.
It is believed that information about the purchase of the castle and other assets of Maxim Bakiev was provided by Alexey Shirshov, a former high-ranking official who was close to Maxim Bakiev and held key positions in Kyrgyzstan's energy sector. After Bakiev's overthrow in 2010, Shirshov left the country, and the interim government declared him wanted internationally for embezzlement and misappropriation of property. In May 2022, he was detained by the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan, but he spent less than a day in custody and was released under house arrest.
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov explained the need to release Shirshov by stating that he agreed to cooperate with the investigation and assist in the return of Maxim Bakiev's assets, including 200 million dollars that are under arrest in various foreign jurisdictions.
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