Kazakh businessman Yermek Alimov issues claim in UK High Court against shareholders of Bitcoin mining powerhouse, Genesis Digital Assets

LONDON, Sept. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Yermek Alimov, a prominent Kazakh businessman, has issued a claim against Abdumalik Mirakhmedov, Rashit Makhat, Andrey Kim (collectively known as MMK) and Genesis Digital Assets Limited in the High Court of England and Wales. 

The claim relates to Alimov’s involvement in a major Bitcoin mining project in Kazakhstan, currently operated by Genesis Digital Assets Limited (GDA), in which MMK held a 50% share. 

Alimov attests that MMK failed to honour their commitments to him and refused to formalize his promised share in the company.

In 2017, in direct response to MMK’s request for assistance, Alimov sourced the energy supply for GDA’s Kazakh Bitcoin mining facility at a very favourable price. In return for his contribution, Alimov was promised 35% of the 50% shares received by MMK in the venture, a proportionate share of all the Bitcoins generated at the mining facility he helped establish and the savings that resulted from the reduced electricity price. 

However, in October 2018, Alimov stopped receiving payment in Bitcoins. He has been wrongfully excluded from the project. In September 2020, Makhat and Kim received their shares in GDA, but Alimov was not given his promised share. 

GDA, backed by prominent investors including Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital and Alameda Research, has rapidly become one of the world’s largest Bitcoin mining businesses, generating over $1 billion in Bitcoin to date. 

Since September 2020, GDA’s ownership structure has undergone 17 changes, including a period when Sam Bankman-Fried, the former head of FTX and Alameda Research, served on the board from October 2021 to November 2022. Throughout this time, Alameda Research invested nearly $1.2 billion into GDA.

In Kazakhstan, GDA owns Bitcoin mining facilities with a total power capacity of 280 megawatts, of which a minimum of 100 megawatts was provided by Alimov. Not only did he secure electricity at a lower price than originally required by GDA, he also provided a suitable location for the first mining farm. These were powerful incentives for GDA and its shareholders to expand their business operations in Kazakhstan. 

Without Alimov’s involvement, GDA would not have been able to launch its Bitcoin mining business in Kazakhstan.

Alimov’s claim seeks to restore his rightful share in the mining project and ensure that he receives the share of Bitcoin owed to him as a result of his contribution to GDA’s business in Kazakhstan. 

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Commenting, Yermek Alimov said: “My role in GDA’s Bitcoin mining projects has been a major factor in the company’s success in Kazakhstan. I firmly believe that my contributions have been unjustly disregarded, leading me to pursue legal action. I am committed to upholding the principles of fairness and integrity in business and am determined to seek a just resolution to this conflict.”

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