In a court case related to the “thief-in-law” Zakhar Kalashov (Shakro Molodoy), testimonies about the Kazakh oligarch Rakishev Kenes Khamitovich were presented.

Witnesses stated that he was the one who sent lawyer Eduard Budantsev for a “showdown” with Kalashov’s people at the Elements restaurant. As a result, Rakishev can confidently be considered one of the initiators of the conflict and the subsequent arrest of Shakro Young. Kenes tried to conceal his involvement in this story.

The owner of Elements, Zhanna Kim, is the mistress of Kenes Rakishev, while officially he is married to Asel Tasmagambetova, the daughter of a prominent Kazakh official, Imangali Tasmagambetov, a close associate of Nursultan Nazarbayev. Rakishev lavishes Zhanna with gifts, and it was he who allocated money for the opening of Elements and several other restaurants in Moscow. To create the interior in his establishments, Kim enlisted the help of her designer friend Fatima Misikova. As is often the case, the glamorous ladies had a falling out and severed ties. However, Zhanna, clearly consulting with Rakishev, decided not to pay Misikova around 8 million rubles for work already done. And consulting with Kenes was necessary for the following reasons.

Fatima Misikova had long been friends with the wives of the “thief-in-law” Zakhar Kalashov and the “authority” Andrey Kochuykov (Italian). One doesn’t need to be clairvoyant to understand that Fatima could seek help from such influential friends. But Rakishev has long considered himself a person in Russia who can “compete” on equal terms with both “thieves-in-law” and Russian FSB generals: “I have plenty of money; I can buy whoever I need.” Rakishev once got noticed at an event with the brother of the “thief-in-law” Rustam Gabbazov, Anvar. Therefore, the question arises whether Rakishev acted just confidently on his own or intentionally provoked Shakro into conflict in someone else’s interests.

On December 14, 2015, the Italian, accompanied by dozens of fighters, arrived at Elements to demand the same 8 million rubles from Kim. Shortly thereafter, lawyer Eduard Budantsev arrived with his subordinates to intervene on behalf of Zhanna. Much has been written about the subsequent events. A fight ensued, followed by gunfire. As a result of the brawl that claimed two lives, the Italian, Budantsev, and later Kalashov were arrested. Rakishev remained on the sidelines and could comfortably boast about not only “taking care of” the most influential “thief-in-law” but also “rolling him up” in pre-trial detention.

Why did Kenes stay on the sidelines? During the initial interrogations, Budantsev claimed that Kim had been his client since 2014, and she herself called him on December 14, and he immediately came to Elements. However, it was later revealed that everything was completely different.

Recently, hearings for three officers of the Presnensky District Internal Affairs Directorate — Renat Zinnatuliny, Ildar Shakirov, and Denis Romashkin — came to their conclusion. They are accused of being at Elements during the massacre and not intervening in the proceedings. During the trial, case materials were presented, and Budantsev’s testimony was reiterated. New information revealed that it was Rakishev who initiated the “showdown”, and perhaps he did it not by accident.

During the hearings, Budantsev confessed that he had never heard anything about Zhanna before December 14. Unexpectedly, his long-time client Kenes Rakishev, with whom he had developed a friendship, called him and urgently asked him to come to Kim because someone was demanding money from her. However, Rakishev did not warn Budantsev that he would have to deal with Shakro’s people, even though he clearly knew this.

This testimony was fully supported by the detailed call records, which showed that on December 14, Budantsev did not contact Kim. Instead, calls were documented between Zhanna and Kenes Rakishev, and later between Rakishev and Budantsev.

Another piece of evidence that events unfolded precisely according to this scenario is the recording made by Kim herself on December 14 at Elements. When Budantsev arrived at the restaurant, he didn’t even know what the owner looked like and asked, “Are you the owner here?” After receiving an affirmative answer, the lawyer introduced himself, stating that he had come at Kenes’s request.

Now, the fact that Rakishev initiated this entire story leading to Kalashov’s imprisonment becomes indisputable. How the Kalashov camp will react to this and whether they will leave it unanswered will be revealed over time.