The Ledger / Vladimir Kim
Vladimir Kim
◼ Origin
Vladimir Kim is the principal owner and controlling shareholder of KAZ Minerals Group and (until December 2025) Kazakhmys Corporation LLP, Kazakhstan's dominant copper mining enterprise with assets in the Karaganda and Ulytau regions. He obtained controlling stakes during Kazakhstan's post-Soviet privatization in the 1990s alongside business partner Eduard Ogay. Kazakhmys Corporation LLP was sold in December 2025 at approximately $3.85 billion. Global Witness's 2010 report documented credible allegations that Kim served as a proxy for President Nursultan Nazarbayev's undisclosed control of the publicly listed Kazakhmys plc, allegations the company declined to rebut with full beneficial ownership disclosure.
◼ Self-Made Verdict — DISPUTED
Obtained controlling stakes in Kazakhmys during post-Soviet privatization in an environment requiring political connections; Global Witness documented credible allegations that Kim served as a proxy for President Nazarbayev's undisclosed control, and the company declined to rebut with full ownership disclosure.
◼ Documented marks
01
Held approximately 70% of Kazakhmys Corporation LLP, Kazakhstan's dominant copper producer; the company was sold in December 2025 at approximately $3.85 billion.
02
Global Witness's 2010 report 'Risky Business' alleged Kim served as a proxy owner for President Nazarbayev's undisclosed control of publicly listed Kazakhmys plc; the company declined to provide full beneficial ownership disclosure.
03
Kazakhstan's Ministry of Industry issued documented contract-violation fines against Kazakhmys of 71.2 million tenge (2020) and 27.3 million tenge (2021) for failure to meet investment obligations, tax obligations, and extraction volumes.
04
OCCRP and KIAR (Kazakhstani Initiative on Asset Recovery) reported Kim owns property at One Hyde Park, London, including an apartment linked to President Nazarbayev's second wife.
05
Kazakhmys mining operations in the Ulytau region generated documented community complaints regarding forced resettlement without adequate legal participation, reported by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre.
No inheritance, or primary accounts documented for this billionaire yet.
◼ List of charges
Total sentence
0–0 years
That is
0.0–0.0 life sentences
(using 78 years as one life)
These are moral charges, not legal ones. The actual legal system has not — and will not — bring them.
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