You don't have permission to access the page you requested
What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed
Get quality reporting directly into your inbox
hundreds of millions of dollars from Kyrgyzstan — one of the poorest countries on earth — have poured into bank accounts in Europe
and the Middle East on behalf of a single family
Much of that money ended up in an expansive real estate portfolio that stretches from the Persian Gulf to the shores of California
Click on each country to read more about the properties the Abdukadyrs acquired in Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Dubai
That portfolio includes prestigious acquisitions
such as a mansion in one of London’s most exclusive neighborhoods and a $1.2 million home near Washington
It also includes new real estate development projects
like a new 26-floor apartment tower in Dubai
But though some of the other projects occupy prime real estate
prompting questions about who is behind them
is among Khabibula Abdukadyr’s acquisitions
“Is there even an investor or an architect anymore?” asked a group of lawmakers from Augsburg about one of the mysteriously inactive construction sites
This investigation by RFE/RL’s Radio Azattyk
answers that question — and connects the millions behind these investments to a murky enterprise half a world away
Last month, the three outlets published an investigation that vaulted Khabibula Abdukadyr
a secretive ethnic Uighur tycoon based in Dubai
The series of stories revealed that he and his family run an underground Central Asian cargo empire that earned millions by smuggling goods
and employing other schemes that depended on corruption in the Kyrgyz customs service
Some of the proceeds of this massive operation
channelled through the Abdukadyrs’ world-spanning company network
ended up in existing properties and new real estate developments
it could be sent wherever the Abdukadyrs wanted
Saimaiti was murdered in Istanbul last month
providing reporters with detailed descriptions of how they made their money and the techniques he used to funnel it abroad
He backed his claims with copious documentation
including personal spreadsheets and ledgers
In total, Saimaiti moved more than $700 million out of Kyrgyzstan over the five years he worked for the Abdukadyr family. He did not provide documentation for that entire amount, but according to a subsequent investigation by the country’s financial police
the total figure may be considerably higher
Open Democracy and Transparency International UK contributed documentation for this story about the Abdukadyr family’s properties in the United Kingdom
The documents he did provide to reporters show that he had sent at least $209 million of the Abdukadyrs’ money to Germany
and Dubai — countries where the family was making large real estate investments
reporters found at least $75 million in wire transfers to EU bank accounts held in the name of the Abdukadyr family and affiliated companies from 2014 to 2017
Another $31 million was transferred to Bank of America accounts belonging to the family in the United States
Of a further $104 million that was wired to Dubai
but a portion was also sent to local property developers
(The family has considerable real estate assets in the emirate.)
These amounts track closely with the numbers disclosed by Kyrgyzstan’s financial police about Saimaiti’s transfers
The police report also shows $27 million sent to the Netherlands and $81 million to Latvia
this photo shows the four brothers at the heart of the Abdukadyr family business: Alimujiang Hadeer
reporters were able to identify at least 20 properties the Abdukadyr family purchased
from mansions and city apartments to gleaming hotel towers
The family is known to have paid $65 million for real estate
but this figure is incomplete because records were not available in all countries and because it does not include the cost of developing the properties
which must have amounted to tens of millions more
The materials Saimaiti provided also reveal the fraudulent methods he used to send the Abdukadyrs’ money abroad
One of these was creating fake loan agreements to provide a cover story for the wire transfers
Saimaiti gave reporters what he said was a sham contract stipulating that his Kyrgyz company
one of the Abdukadyr family’s main German companies
The contract — drafted under German law and dated July 1
2014 — features AKA Petroleum’s corporate stamp and a signature closely resembling that of Khabibula Abdukadyr’s Munich-based representative
The family bought real estate worth $44 million in the United Kingdom
Saimaiti also provided copies of seven wire-transfer orders totaling $3.7 million he made to AKA Petroleum accounts that specifically reference the sham contract
they were made to appear as legitimate payments for goods
But the companies that received the money did not appear to be in the textile business
Saimaiti personally wired $700,000 to Khabibula Abdukadyr’s German bank account
with the reason for the transfer listed as “textile production.” In another
he sent $290,000 to a Dubai property developer using an official code for a land plot with the words “for textile” appended at the end
The sham loan agreement provided by Saimaiti (left)
and a subsequent wire transfer that refers to that agreement (right)
show one method the Abdukadyr family used to justify the movement of their money abroad
and should have been looked at carefully,” says Graham Barrow
a dark money specialist who has advised major banks on how to strengthen their anti-money-laundering practices
money launderers do not like to move or invest money through the unstable and corrupt systems that allow them to gain control over it in the first place,” he said
“This makes mature Western economies and stable
long-term investments like property particularly attractive.”
But the investments do little to benefit the countries they arrive in
“The long-term effect of dark money … is to distort the market
often pricing out the very residents whose presence is required to support the local economy,” he said
Neither Abdukadyr nor his business associates have responded to multiple requests for comment
its core companies were AKA International and MBL Investments in Dubai
AKA Petroleum and AKA Immobilien (now called AKA Group) in Germany
and AKA London Trading (now called Miran International) in the United Kingdom
Click on each country to read more about the properties the Abdukadyrs acquired in:
The construction project across from the fur shop here in Augsburg
“There are always new people coming. They work, and then the work is stopped, and it’s littered with garbage. Everyone puts their trash out, and neither the owner nor the architect keeps an eye on this,” Franzmann, a furrier at the venerable Conrad Glock fur and leather shop
said in an interview outside the store this September
“It’s an eyesore for the city,” added Franzmann
mustachioed man who complains that the construction site has driven business away
reporters saw a man walking inside the shell of a building
Neighbors said only a handful of workers showed up to the site occasionally — though Franzmann said last week that some construction had picked up again
the building has become known among locals as the “haunted house.”
The Abdukadyrs’ stalled building site in Augsburg in September
“Is there even an investor or an architect anymore?” asked a group of Augsburg lawmakers in a February 2018 letter to the mayor about the development
the property has been held by the Abdukadyrs’ AKA group of companies
In fact, the stalled project is just one of several German developments featured on the group’s now-defunct website
They also include a plot of land near Munich and an empty business center in the city that serves as the group’s phantom corporate headquarters
The precise scope and value of the family’s properties in the country
where real estate ownership and sales records are not publicly accessible
But the website also showcased plans and architectural renderings for additional hotel
and business developments in several German cities and towns
Two of the Abdukadyr family’s main companies — AKA Immobilien (now renamed AKA Group) and its subsidiary
AKA Petroleum — are incorporated in Germany
According to their most recent financial filings from 2017
though this figure likely includes assets outside Germany
appeared to be nothing more than a deserted business center in an industrial park in eastern Munich when reporters visited on a weekday this fall
Boxes and construction materials could be seen strewn haphazardly across the ground floor
Folding tables and a lonely broken umbrella lay near the dusty main entrance
while the courtyard brimmed with weeds and unkempt bushes
A small mailbox at the front of the premises listed the names of AKA Immobilien
and two other German firms tied to the Abdukadyr network
A paper sign taped to the glass door at the main entrance directed visitors to a business center across the street
where the names of the four companies were listed next to a doorbell
Reporters rang the bell several times but received no answer
Repeated calls to the number listed on the paper sign went to an answering machine
The calls were returned by the Abdukadyrs’ Munich-based representative
He refused to discuss the family’s business and has since declined subsequent interview requests
The website of the Munich-based architectural firm Stark Architekten, which has also worked on the Augsburg “haunted house,” describes a proposed $19.2 million renovation of the empty AKA headquarters. It envisions a gleaming, five-star cylindrical glass hotel with 196 rooms — complete with AKA International branding
In addition to the Augsburg “haunted house” and the deserted Munich business center
the Abdukadyr family purchased a plot of land in Vaterstetten
The now-defunct AKA website described the planned development there as a 220-room hotel with an expected completion date of December 2017
A local official in Vaterstetten said representatives of the group had shown plans for the proposed hotel but had never filed any formal paperwork to move the project forward
At least two other AKA projects in Germany appear never to have existed at all
The group’s website featured a proposed hotel in the German spa town of Bad Vilbel, northeast of Frankfurt. A local official responsible for commercial construction told Immobilien Zeitung in April 2018 that the images associated with the purported development were “a uniquely stupid fantasy product without a plot of land.”
“I don’t know anything about such a project
so the statement of the city councilman still stands,” Yannick Schwander
a spokesman for the Bad Vilbel mayor’s office
Another proposed project on the dead AKA site was the development of a hotel in the town of Dietzenbach
A spokesman for the local government said that no official planning application had ever been submitted for such a project
But if the Abdukadyr family never completed a real estate development in Germany
Financial records that Saimaiti provided to reporters indicate that in 2014 and 2015
he wired at least $46 million to accounts held by Abdukadyr and his two main German companies
it’s unclear why so many of their German projects appear to be phantoms
But even if none of the rest are ever completed
they already represent many millions of dollars successfully funneled out of Central Asia
commercial thoroughfare in the Ealing district of West London
has gained a new lease on life since the 2007 announcement that a new railway
It was here that the Abdukadyr family purchased a property known as Dawley House for $28 million in 2016
Once the new rail line starts running in 2021
the property will be just 20 minutes from both central London and Heathrow Airport
making it an attractive investment opportunity
According to permitting documentation and a defunct website for the Abdukadyrs’ AKA group of companies
the family had big plans for the site: A 12-story glass hotel with 113 apartments
and fitness center” that would loom over the surrounding area
the site has been virtually untouched since the previous building was demolished almost three years ago
which was just an empty lot behind a wooden partition and a few padlocked metal gates
The Abdukadys bought the property through one of their UK companies
show that it received $28 million from two foreign Abdukadyr firms that year
and that it used a corresponding amount for a real estate investment
These firms — AKA International and Palvan Insaat — were among the recipients of tens of millions of dollars that Saimaiti
the self-confessed money launderer who worked for the Abdukadyrs
sent out of Kyrgyzstan on the family’s behalf
Miran’s financial filings also show that Khabibula Abdukadyr himself loaned the company $2.5 million in 2016. The company gave roughly that amount to his son, Aibibula Nuermaimaiti, as a personal loan. A smaller amount was sent to a Nuermaimaiti company that used it to acquire what is now a well-reviewed Uighur restaurant in North London
This establishment appears to be the only Abdukadyr-affiliated entity that demonstrates tangible business activity in the United Kingdom beyond the acquisition of real estate
Abdukadyr’s immediate relatives use several last names
the members of the family connected to their business network are referred to in this story as the Abdukadyrs because Khabibula Abdukadyr is the head of their empire
The Abdukadyrs own at least four other properties in London
for which they have paid a total of about $16 million
bought a luxury apartment in a building overlooking the Thames River for over $2 million in 2016
a 17-story high-rise in the Wandsworth neighborhood of southwest London
But the Abdukadyrs’ crown jewel in the city is a mansion in one of its most exclusive neighborhoods — the leafy
private Coombe Park estate in Kingston upon Thames
also serves as the registered address of the Abdukadyrs’ business operations in the United Kingdom
and two of his sons are listed as the owners of the mansion
which the family purchased for $6.8 million in 2015
A brochure for the seven-bedroom home touts the area’s boating
as well as its proximity to a variety of international schools and the All England Lawn Tennis Club
which hosts the annual Wimbledon tennis championships
the brochure says: “Undeniably this is one of the finest homes within a most exclusive road off Kingston Hill.”
Download a PDF of ownership records for the properties mentioned in this story
The public’s access to the street is blocked by an electric security gate — erected amid controversy in 2008 — that its wealthy residents use a key code to open
With additional reporting by Open Democracy and Transparency International UK
which provided information about some of the Abdukadyr family’s properties in the United Kingdom
Khabibula Abdukadyr extended his business footprint to the United States
where he and his family set up a string of shell companies and made two real-estate purchases
The former is a four-bedroom, three-bath home north of Los Angeles
Two of Abdukadyr’s sons purchased the property in November 2013 for $722,000
(They sold it in August 2019 for $785,000)
The other is a house in Great Falls, Virginia, purchased in April 2018 for almost $1.3 million. The two-story brick home was officially bought by AKA Development
a company incorporated the year before by Aibibula Yamaimaiti
a man several sources have identified as Khabibula Abdukadyr’s son
The company is the listed importer of four shipments of construction materials between August 2018 and June 2019, as well as 29 pieces of furniture the Abdukadyrs shipped in October from their Turkish company
A visit to the office park where AKA Development is registered revealed that dozens of companies and organizations
which run the gamut from solar energy to legal and pet-sitting services
The Abdukadyr company had no visible presence in the building
the family imported at least two luxury vehicles to the United States
A 2011 Lamborghini and 2008 Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV were shipped in Yamaimaiti’s name to the family’s Virginia home
Though the family’s real-estate holdings in the U.S
are considerably smaller than in several other countries
their U.S.-registered companies did receive substantial wire transfers from abroad courtesy of the self-confessed money launderer
The main recipient of the transfers was a company called AKA Energy
which was incorporated in Nevada in July 2014 and whose managers have included Abdukadyr
The Abdukadyr family registered several other U.S
including the Texas-based Palwan Energy and AKA Food
and the California-based Nur International Trading North America
An internal financial spreadsheet and bank transfer records Saimaiti provided to reporters show that during a six-month stretch in 2014–15
his Kyrgyz company wired $29 million to Bank of America accounts in the name of AKA Energy
which has listed a business address in a strip mall in south Las Vegas
The documents show the money was sent in 63 separate wire transfers in sums ranging from $100,000 to $800,000
the purpose was described as “debt return” for a contract purportedly concluded on October 2
Download a PDF of ownership records for the properties mentioned in this story
and reporters were unable to find any evidence of its business activity
The Abdukadyrs have not responded to requests for comment
Another $750,000 was sent to Yamaimaiti’s Bank of America account
stated that the funds were “for the purchase of a home.”
The Abdukadyr family’s business profile is much more prominent in Dubai than in Europe or North America
Khabibula Abdukadyr and his relatives used tens of millions of dollars wired from Kyrgyzstan to snap up property and launch development projects in the emirate
where they run a company called AKA International (previously known as ABL Hospitality Management)
Bank records provided to reporters by Saimaiti
he wired at least $104 million to AKA International and Dubai-based property developers on behalf of the family
He claimed this was just part of a much larger total
though he did not provide records to back up this claim
was to fund the family’s real estate investments
“I transferred a lot of money from Kyrgyzstan to Dubai for land purposes,” he said
a site he called the “Marina” was among the Abdukadyrs’ major developments
The now-defunct AKA website once advertised a flagship project called the AKA Marina Hotel & Residences
The “iconic new construction development,” just 500 meters from the waterfront
is described as a pair of towers — a 23-story hotel and a 60-story apartment building — linked by a “panoramic leisure deck bridge” with an infinity swimming pool
The site lists the project as being under “preliminary submission,” though its current status is unclear
A rendering of the Abdukadyrs’ planned flagship development from their company’s now-defunct website
Two other major projects advertised on the AKA site are in an advanced stage
The second major AKA project under construction, called the MBL Residence, is a 45-floor high-end residential building that is part of the massive Jumeirah Lake Towers development
The project was advertised on the AKA site as one of the group’s main investments
According to a slideshow advertising its features and amenities
the tower is a joint venture between AKA International and a multinational Dubai-based conglomerate called the MAG Group
A MAG representative said the company did not wish to comment on AKA’s involvement
(Matraimov has publicly denied allegations of wrongdoing and did not comment about the Dubai project)
Aside from major real estate investment projects
the Abdukadyr family has made what appear to be personal purchases in Dubai
A leaked database of private property in the emirate contains at least seven properties acquired by the Abdukadyr family and an employee
The leaked database of property and residency data was compiled by real estate professionals
Though the data does not contain precise purchase dates
it does show the properties’ locations and in many cases their prices
It covers the period between 2015 and 2017
These properties include four villas in Jumeirah Park
for which the family paid a total of just over $5 million
These were purchased by Khabibula Abdukadyr
Khabibula himself also owns a villa in the nearby Jumeirah Islands development
The two apartments — one in a building on the artificial tree-shaped island of Palm Jumeirah
and one in a nearby tower called Al Dhafrah — were purchased by one of Khabibula’s sons and by a female relative for a total of $448,000
Wire transfer records provided to reporters by Saimaiti confirm some of the information in the leaked database
some of his wires were sent to a major developer in the Dubai real estate market
which built all but one of the villas and apartments the Abdukadyrs purchased
some of these wire transfers contained alphanumeric designations pointing to specific properties
but sometimes with misleading descriptions
a September 2014 transfer of $290,000 to Nakheel includes the code “JVC11 YHRG 001C for textile.” Others show “delivery of goods” as the reason for the transactions
The codes included in the transfers match the property identifiers included in the leaked database
Support from readers like you helps OCCRP expose organized crime and corruption around the world
you’ll be directly supporting investigative journalism as a public good
You’ll also gain access to exclusive insights and benefits
Turkish-Iranian money launderer Reza Zarrab helped the Iranian regime move oil money around the world to evade sanctions —..
unpaid bills: Ihor Kolomoisky’s untold American legacy
A major leak of privately collected property data in Dubai has revealed the enormous wealth amassed by a flamboyant British..
Sign In
Subscribe Now
Comox Valley Funeral HomeAffiliations:
Dialogue and debate are integral to a free society and we welcome and encourage you to share your views on the issues of the day. We ask that you be respectful of others and their points of view, refrain from personal attacks and stay on topic. To learn about our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines
Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker