Russia puts Belgian ex-Zhaikmunai investor Frank Monstrey on wanted list at Kazakhstan's request

August 28, 2026 at 10:22 AM2 min

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Russia's Interior Ministry has placed Belgian businessman Frank Joseph Monstrey on its criminal wanted list, two months after Kazakhstan's Anti-Corruption Service issued a similar request. Monstrey is a former investor in Zhaikmunai, a subsidiary of Nostrum Oil & Gas, and has been linked by investigative journalists to fugitive banker Mukhtar Ablyazov. The move comes as Nostrum Oil & Gas faces a financial crisis with debts exceeding $700 million and record losses of $214.2 million in 2025.

Key Facts

Russia's Interior Ministry added Frank Joseph Monstrey to its federal wanted database on August 28, 2026, two months after Kazakhstan's Anti-Corruption Service requested his search.
Monstrey's structures transferred about $440 million through offshore accounts, which financed the business empire of Ilyas Khrapunov, son of ex-Almaty mayor Viktor Khrapunov and son-in-law of Mukhtar Ablyazov.
Nostrum Oil & Gas defaulted on bonds in 2025 and again in summer 2026, with accumulated debt exceeding $700 million.
The company's loss for 2025 grew almost tenfold to $214.2 million, and Kazakh tax authorities assessed Zhaikmunai an additional $71 million in arrears.
Businessman Kenges Rakishev will become the new owner of Nostrum Oil & Gas, which is selling its Kazakh assets including a large gas processing plant.

Wanted Listing

Russia's Interior Ministry placed Belgian businessman Frank Joseph Monstrey on its criminal wanted list on August 28, 2026. The listing appeared two months after Kazakhstan's Anti-Corruption Service under the National Security Committee made a similar request. Monstrey is a former investor in Zhaikmunai, a subsidiary of Nostrum Oil & Gas, and has been repeatedly linked by investigative journalists to fugitive banker Mukhtar Ablyazov. The Russian Interior Ministry database currently contains more than 1,900 active wanted notices at Kazakhstan's request.

Offshore Transfers

In 2018, the OCCRP investigative group found that Monstrey's structures transferred about $440 million through offshore accounts. These funds financed the business empire of Ilyas Khrapunov, son of ex-Almaty mayor Viktor Khrapunov and son-in-law of Mukhtar Ablyazov. The money was used to purchase elite real estate in the United States, including the Trump SoHo tower in New York. Monstrey claimed he was merely repaying a personal debt to Ablyazov. A settlement agreement was later reached between Monstrey and BTA Bank, under which the bank received a stake in Nostrum Oil & Gas as partial compensation.

Nostrum Financial Crisis

Nostrum Oil & Gas, which develops fields in western Kazakhstan, defaulted on its bonds in 2025 and again in summer 2026. The company's accumulated debt exceeded $700 million. Its loss for 2025 grew almost tenfold to $214.2 million. Kazakh tax authorities assessed Zhaikmunai an additional $71 million in arrears. Shareholders decided to sell Kazakh assets, including a large gas processing plant, and in August businessman Kenges Rakishev was announced as the new owner of Nostrum Oil & Gas.