Galimzhan Yessenov buys back shares of his Jusan Bank from minority shareholders

First Heartland Securities controlled by Yessenov has bought back $641,221 of shares / Collage by Kursiv.media (Askar Akhmetullin and Wikimedia Commons), photo editor: Denis Andreev

In 2023, First Heartland Securities bought 1.4 million shares of Jusan Bank worth $641,221 from minority shareholders, according to an audited financial statement for 2023. The report has been published on the KASE website.

As of December 31, 2023, the key shareholders of Jusan Bank were the following:

First Heartland Securities – 79.63% (78.73% as of the end of 2022);

Galimzhan Yessenov – 20.11% (no changes compared to 2022);

Other shareholders – 0.25% (previously 1.16%).

At the same time, First Heartland Securities itself is controlled by Galimzhan Yessenov. In the summer of 2023, he took over 97.98% of First Heartland Securities shares, which previously belonged to Jusan Technologies registered in the U.K.

The move followed litigation that lasted for several months as the Office of the General Prosecutor tried to bring Jusan Bank back under Kazakhstan’s jurisdiction, filing a case in the Almaty court in February 2023.

In September 2023, Yessenov as a major shareholder demanded minorities to sell him the remaining shares (2%) of First Heartland Securities. Given that he was ready to pay 51,500 tenge ($116.69) per share, the total sum of the deal would have reached $2.4 million. However, it is unclear if the deal was completed as information about First Heartland Securities owners on eGov.kz is hidden, while KASE no longer publishes information about the company as it has delisted from the exchange.

Yessenov has been ranked the 15th richest person in Kazakhstan this year with a fortune of $590 million. He also controls stakes in Kazakhtelecom (9.19%) and Kcell (9.08%) through Jusan Bank and personally possesses 14.87% of Kcell’s shares.

Jusan Bank is one of the six biggest banks in Kazakhstan, controlling assets worth $6.3 billion. In 2023, the company’s net profit grew from $200 million to $301 million. With the help of 6,000 employees, the bank renders services to three million customers through 118 branch offices in 43 towns throughout Kazakhstan.