Tourists causing wildfire on a Greek island might have been well-known Kazakhstanis
Umut Shayakhmetova, CEO of Halyk Bank, and Daniyar Abulgazin, a mogul on the Forbes Kazakhstan list, may have been on a yacht called Persefoni I, from where fireworks were launched, causing a massive fire on the Greek island of Hydra, according to local authorities. The news came out when the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) obtained a list of passengers on the boat. Representatives of both Shayakhmetova and Abulgazin refused to respond to a request from Kursiv.media to comment on the news.
The OCCRP investigators reported that apart from the aforementioned individuals, there were Shayakhmetova’s husband and their daughter on the yacht along with Abulgazin’s wife and several other people. The next day after the incident, Abulgazin’s private jet flew from Athens to Almaty.
The context. Last weekend, the Greek media reported that a group of Kazakhstani tourists accidentally caused a wildfire on Hydra Island by launching fireworks from the boat. The fire took more than 300,000 square meters, forcing local authorities to deploy several teams of firefighters and a helicopter. Some local media outlets also reported that the tourists tried to douse the fire on their own with no positive results. They then called the rescue service and left the scene.
Almost immediately, 13 individuals, probably the crew, were detained by the police. Even though the Hydra mayor’s office hasn’t revealed the identities of the people on the yacht, authorities said they would file a legal case against them once all the damage is estimated.
Umut Shayakhmetova has served as CEO of Halyk Bank since 2009. In 2023, the bank reported $1.4 billion in net profit (+21.8%). The major shareholders of the bank are Timur Kulibayev and Dinara Kulibayeva, who control 56.4% of the bank’s shares via the ALMEX holding. Bank of New York controls 23.14% of the stock as a nominee holder. It also issued Halyk’s deposit receipts traded on the London Stock Exchange.
Daniyar Abulgazin is ranked 21st in the Forbes Kazakhstan list of the richest people in the country with a fortune of $380 million. He controls stakes in three gas station chains – Qazaq Oil, SinoOil and Gas Energy – and in RTS Operator, LLC; in Petroleum, LLC; RTI-ANPZ, LLC and SilkwayTransit, LLC.
Greece has been struggling with extinguishing wildfires for the past several months. Abnormal heat has caused wildfires at tens of thousands of hectares throughout the country. Hundreds of people, primarily from rural areas, have been forced to leave their houses.
This was not the first yacht incident with Kazakhstani tourists in Europe. In August 2020, Lady MM reported a fire and sank off the coast of Sardinia. At the time, local coast guards saved 17 people, who managed to escape from the sunk yacht on a small boat.
