Two days before Turlov won FIDE, Russia sued him.
Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office is reportedly seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in assets from the new FIDE president. Kommersant’s sources say it’s over alleged funding for Ukraine. A first hearing is set for October 15.
On September 26, Timur Turlov was elected president of FIDE in Samarkand. Two days earlier, Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office had filed a lawsuit against him in Moscow.
It only became public this week. According to Russian media citing law-enforcement sources, prosecutors want hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of assets linked to Turlov and his Freedom Holding group turned over to the state.
What the lawsuit says
A deputy prosecutor general filed the claim on September 24 at Moscow’s Tverskoy District Court. Alongside Turlov, it names Freedom Holding Corp., Freedom Finance Europe Ltd., W-Empirical Holding Corp. and businessman Arkady Shchukin.
The claim itself hasn’t been published. The “hundreds of millions of dollars” figure comes from unnamed law-enforcement sources quoted by Russian outlets, and none of it has been confirmed in court.
Kommersant: it’s about Ukraine
Prosecutors haven’t said publicly why they filed. But the Russian business newspaper Kommersant, citing its sources, reports that the case centres on Turlov and his companies allegedly helping to finance “Ukrainian structures opposing Russia’s armed forces”. If the court agrees, they could be declared extremists and their assets taken by the state.
The money Kommersant points to was given as humanitarian aid. According to the newspaper, Turlov donated 1 billion tenge, more than $2 million, to Ukraine’s embassy in Kazakhstan, and about 372 million tenge, more than $720,000, to charities buying aid. Freedom Holding gave €2 million through Ukraine’s UNITED24 platform for ambulances and medical equipment.
Kommersant notes that Russian courts have already declared other donors extremists, after finding their money went on drones, ammunition and equipment for forces fighting Russia. Nothing made public so far says that about Turlov’s donations.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 15.
“No assets in Russia”
Freedom Holding says it doesn’t know what the case is about.
We still do not understand what this lawsuit is about or whether it is valid. We see no significant risks to the holding company’s operations. We have no assets in Russia, and the holding company itself does not operate there.
Freedom Holding, in a statement to Russian media
Who is Turlov?
Turlov was born in Moscow, moved to Kazakhstan in 2011 and renounced his Russian citizenship in 2022. He founded Freedom Holding, a Nasdaq-listed financial group, and has led the Kazakhstan Chess Federation since 2023. His company has put about $30 million into Kazakh chess over three years.
In Samarkand he beat Wadim Rosenstein 110–85 in a runoff to become FIDE’s first president from Kazakhstan, taking over from Arkady Dvorkovich. Viswanathan Anand was elected his deputy.
We haven’t found a public statement from FIDE on the case.
What do you think happens on October 15?
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The details of the claim have not been published. Sources: court records and reporting by Meduza, Kommersant, Izvestia and Vedomosti; Freedom Holding’s statements to Russian media; FIDE election results reported by Chess.com.
