Qairat Boranbaev

Qairat Sovetaiuly Boranbaev (Kazakh: Қайрат Советайұлы Боранбаев; born 22 September 1966) is a Kazakh businessmаn, President of Kazakhstan's National Paralympic Committee, and chairman of the supervisory board of FC Kairat.

With a personal wealth of 590 million dollars, Boranbayev was on the Forbes Top 50 influential entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan list.^[1]

Early life and education

Kairat's large family of origin lived in the settlement of Amengeldy, Torgay Region.^[2][3] An avid athlete, Kairat first took up boxing, then soccer.^[4]

Kairat went on to study at the Kazakh Academy of Sport and got his PhD in education in 1999.^[5] In 2000, he also received a Law degree from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.^[6][7]

Career

Boranbayev's first job was at a regional school, and later, between 1991 and 1993, he worked at Sports school No. 21 in Almaty.^[8]

Kairat left coaching in 1993 to start a company called DECA and later held executive positions at Alash, Altyn-Alma and Sistema joint-stock companies.^[9]

Having received a Law degree, Boranbayev decided in 2000 to make a career in the oil and gas sector and joined KazTransGas, Intergas Central Asia and KazRosGas as a top manager.^[10]

Kairat has engaged in diverse business projects ranging from oil&gas to real estate and retail, he owned a stake at Esentai Mall and Esentai Tower, Karaganda Pharmaceutical Cluster, fitness centers. His interests encompassed roughly thirty business activities.^[11][12]

In 2016 Mr. Boranbayev became a McDonald's franchisee for Kazakhstan, Belarus and some regions of Russia.^[13]

Social activities

Sport played a role in Kairat's social activities. In 2009, he became the President of Kostanay Regional Boxing Federation.^[14][15]

In 2012 Mr. Boranbayev also became the chairman of the supervisory board of FC Kairat.^[16][17]

In 2015, he came to the helm of Kazakhstan's National Paralympic Committee.^[18]

In 2017 he became a Vice President of UEFA Fair Play and Social Responsibility Committee.^[19][20]

Personal life

Kairat and Sholpan Boranbayev have 4 children. Alima, their eldest daughter, is the best known child being married to Aisultan, grandson of the first president of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev.^[21] The couple has a daughter named Amelie.^[22][23]

Criminal prosecution

On March 17, 2022, Kairat Boranbayev was arrested and charged with large-scale embezzlement in the quasi-public sector.^[24]

During investigation, numerous famous athletes, musicians and moviemakers testified in support of Kairat.^{[25][26][27][28][29]}

On March 31, 2023 Astana court sentenced him to 8 years in prison and ordered his assets to be seized.^[30]

References