In the recent case of JSC BTA Bank v Ablyazov
[2015] UKSC 64, the UK Supreme Court has given important guidance
on the scope of the standard form of freezing order issued by the
English courts.
Background
Muktar Ablyazov was once a member of the
political elite in Kazakhstan and a protégé of its
president, Nursultan Nazarbayev. In 1998 he was appointed to the
coveted post of Minister of Energy, Industry and Trade. He used his
position of influence to secure favourable business deals,
including the acquisition of shares in Bank TuranAlem, which later
came to be known as BTA Bank (“BTA”).
In late 2001, Ablyazov broke ranks with
Nazarbayev’s ruling party, citing disenchantment with
corruption in the president’s inner circle. He co-founded an
opposition movement, Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan, to challenge
the Nazarbayev regime. It was not long before Ablyazov was
arrested. The charge was ‘abusing official powers as a
minister’. Unsurprisingly, the
