Forte Village
Forte Village in Italy (Via Instagram)

Shukhrat Ibragimov, the new chairman of Kazakh commodity giant Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), is facing a slew of questions over a controversial deal in when he took control of a luxury Italian resort from a sanctioned Russian oligarch.

Belgian billionaire Shukhrat Ibragimov, whose late father Alijan was one of the company's founders, took up the position of chairman of the board of directors earlier this month.

But Ibragimov is already facing criticism after it emerged that he quietly took ownership of luxury Italian resort – shortly after its previous owner, Russian oil tycoon Musa Bazhaev, was sanctioned by the EU and UK.

The Financial Times reported that ownership of the Sardinian resort, named after its founder and influential hotelier Lord Charles Forte, shifted from Bazhaev to Ibragimov in early 2023. According to the Financial Times, Brussels is locked in a game of cat-and-mouse with Russian oligarchs seeking to exploit loopholes in the EU's sanctions regime to cling to their assets.

Forte Village was constructed in Pula on Sardinia's southern coast. In the 1970s, it was famed for its pristine beaches. A favourite among celebrities such as David Beckham and Naomi Campbell, the resort boasts eight luxury hotels and 13 villas.

Forte is directly owned by an Italian company called Progetto Esmeralda, which also owns other assets on the island, including the Palazzo Doglio hotel in the city of Cagliari. Progetto Esmeralda's latest published accounts show revenue of EUR 66 million in 2022 and a credit facility with Russia's VTB Bank worth EUR 350 million.

Before taking ownership of Forte Village, Ibragimov and his family, including Alijan, were co-investors with Bazhaev and his nephew Deni in Kyrgyzstan's largest gold mine, Jeruy.

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Vladimir Putin inaugurated the mine in 2021. In December 2022, two months before the Forte Village ownership transfer to Ibragimov, his 40 per cent stake in the mine was transferred to a Russian company owned by the Bazhaevs. According to Cypriot records, this became the mine's sole shareholder.

News of the apparent quid pro quo will raise eyebrows after Ibragimov's elevation to chairman of the board of directors at ERG. In a press release on 17 July, the company lavished praise for the new members' "extensive experience" and "expertise and dedication to the Company's values".

ERG also confirmed that founders Alexander Mashkevitch and Patokh Chodiev have quit the board. Chodiev was replaced by his son Sabir, who has been the company's Deputy Chief Executive Officer since 2021. Representatives of the Kazakh government—Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin and Finance Minister Madi Takiyev—remain as members of the board of directors.

In a statement, the company said: "The newly appointed managers, who have long been involved in the Company's operations and have extensive experience in the industry, will continue to cooperate with the Group's shareholders towards achieving ERG's strategic goals and objectives. Their expertise and dedication to the Company's values will ensure its course remains consistent and stable as part of the Group's natural evolution.

"Our mission remains unchanged: To be the best at what we do and drive global change whilst holding to our values, helping unlock the potential of the Earth and its people and ensure the prosperity of those who rely on us."