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Piping hot: How Putin won China gas deal Piping hot: How Putin won China gas deal
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The billionaire Kazakh oligarch who bought Prince Andrew’s house played a decisive behind-the-scenes role in facilitating the historic $400bn (£250bn) gas deal between Russia’s Gazprom and the Chinese government, The Independent can reveal.The billionaire Kazakh oligarch who bought Prince Andrew’s house played a decisive behind-the-scenes role in facilitating the historic $400bn (£250bn) gas deal between Russia’s Gazprom and the Chinese government, The Independent can reveal.
The oligarch, Timur Kulibayev, a director of Gazprom, was brought in by the company’s deputy chairman, Alexei Miller, to revive negotiations which had broken down when the Chinese refused to pay the prices proposed by the Russian energy giant.The oligarch, Timur Kulibayev, a director of Gazprom, was brought in by the company’s deputy chairman, Alexei Miller, to revive negotiations which had broken down when the Chinese refused to pay the prices proposed by the Russian energy giant.
While Mr Miller, President Vladimir Putin and the Chinese President Xi Jinping stepped into the limelight to take the credit for the biggest contract in the history of the gas sector in Russia, it was secretive Kazakh billionaire Mr Kulibayev who unlocked a decade of often frustrating negotiations between the two superpowers.While Mr Miller, President Vladimir Putin and the Chinese President Xi Jinping stepped into the limelight to take the credit for the biggest contract in the history of the gas sector in Russia, it was secretive Kazakh billionaire Mr Kulibayev who unlocked a decade of often frustrating negotiations between the two superpowers.
The only non-Russian on the Gazprom board, Mr Kulibayev is paid $616,000 (£385,000) a year. He is a son-in-law of the Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, whose nation provides a strategic and geographical bridge between Russia and China. He joined Gazprom primarily because of his Chinese contacts, based on a series of controversial business deals with its state oil company.The only non-Russian on the Gazprom board, Mr Kulibayev is paid $616,000 (£385,000) a year. He is a son-in-law of the Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, whose nation provides a strategic and geographical bridge between Russia and China. He joined Gazprom primarily because of his Chinese contacts, based on a series of controversial business deals with its state oil company.
Mr Kulibayev was appointed at a time when negotiations between Gazprom and China had almost reached a stalemate. In 2009, Gazprom and the Chinese state oil company, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), signed a memorandum of agreement for supplying natural gas from Russia to China. But this deal was never implemented, mainly because the Chinese demanded lower prices.Mr Kulibayev was appointed at a time when negotiations between Gazprom and China had almost reached a stalemate. In 2009, Gazprom and the Chinese state oil company, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), signed a memorandum of agreement for supplying natural gas from Russia to China. But this deal was never implemented, mainly because the Chinese demanded lower prices.
However, after Mr Kulibayev joined the Gazprom board in 2011 the Chinese became more flexible and accommodating and negotiations were then fast-tracked, according to a source close to Gazprom. “The talks with CNPC intensified”, the source told The Independent.However, after Mr Kulibayev joined the Gazprom board in 2011 the Chinese became more flexible and accommodating and negotiations were then fast-tracked, according to a source close to Gazprom. “The talks with CNPC intensified”, the source told The Independent.
Mr Kulibayev is best known for buying Sunninghill Park, Prince Andrew’s former marital home with his ex-wife, the Duchess of York. Using an offshore company, he paid £15.6m in 2007 for the mansion, £6.6m over the asking price, only to leave it abandoned and derelict ever since.Mr Kulibayev is best known for buying Sunninghill Park, Prince Andrew’s former marital home with his ex-wife, the Duchess of York. Using an offshore company, he paid £15.6m in 2007 for the mansion, £6.6m over the asking price, only to leave it abandoned and derelict ever since.
But earlier this year, the oligarch’s lawyers filed plans to demolish the Berkshire property, a wedding gift from the Queen to her son, and to construct a new modern family home on the site.But earlier this year, the oligarch’s lawyers filed plans to demolish the Berkshire property, a wedding gift from the Queen to her son, and to construct a new modern family home on the site.
Mr Kulibayev is married to Dinara Nazarbayev, daughter of the Kazakh president, but also had a relationship with Goga Ashkenazi, the statuesque socialite and friend of Prince Andrew. This has not stopped the oligarch from being the favourite to succeed 73-year-old President Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan, which is rich in natural resources and a major trading partner of China and Russia.Mr Kulibayev is married to Dinara Nazarbayev, daughter of the Kazakh president, but also had a relationship with Goga Ashkenazi, the statuesque socialite and friend of Prince Andrew. This has not stopped the oligarch from being the favourite to succeed 73-year-old President Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan, which is rich in natural resources and a major trading partner of China and Russia.
An American diplomat described Mr Kulibayev as “the favoured presidential son-in-law” and “the ultimate controller of 90 per cent of the economy of Kazakhstan” in a US government cable published by WikiLeaks. The diplomat added that Mukhtar Ablyazov, an exiled Kazakh banker now facing fraud charges, had leaked “documentary evidence” which alleged that China’s state companies bribed Mr Kulibayev over $100m (£62m) in oil deals.
In 2010, Mr Abylazov also wrote to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee “drawing your attention to … evidence of corruption in the sale of Kazakhstan oil and gas assets to Chinese investors”.
He added: “In my view this evidence is so overwhelming that the only conclusion an independent authority can reach is that Timur Kulibayev and members of his organised crime groups have been involved in the theft of state property on a large scale, abuse of authority by persons authorised to perform state functions and laundering of illegally obtained money.”
Mr Kulibayev vehemently denied the allegations, which focused on his role in helping China’s CNPC acquire the Kazakh government’s stake in Aktobe MunaiGas for $150m (£93m) – less than half the value originally placed on it by the Kazakh state.
CNPC, which owns shares in six Kazakh oil companies and a pipeline that delivers 79 million barrels of crude a year to China, also strongly denied any wrongdoing. “We always maintain high ethical standards of conducting business”, the company stated.
Today, Mr Kulibayev remains a major player in the oil industry in Kazakhstan and has accumulated an estimated fortune of £7bn, analysts told The Independent. A former head of its sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna, he had previously been involved in several profitable deals with Gazprom. In a joint venture with his wife, Mr Kulibayev also owns Almex, a Kazakh-based investment company which controls the country’s second largest bank, Haylyk.Today, Mr Kulibayev remains a major player in the oil industry in Kazakhstan and has accumulated an estimated fortune of £7bn, analysts told The Independent. A former head of its sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna, he had previously been involved in several profitable deals with Gazprom. In a joint venture with his wife, Mr Kulibayev also owns Almex, a Kazakh-based investment company which controls the country’s second largest bank, Haylyk.
With his Indian business partner Arvind Tiku, he also runs KazstroyService, an engineering firm with annual revenues of $1.5bn (£930m), a Singapore-based investment company with stakes in Kazakh oil and gas, a gold mine and a fleet of private jets.With his Indian business partner Arvind Tiku, he also runs KazstroyService, an engineering firm with annual revenues of $1.5bn (£930m), a Singapore-based investment company with stakes in Kazakh oil and gas, a gold mine and a fleet of private jets.