One of the newspapers published an article about the failure to return $8.3 million to Eximbank. Meanwhile, at the time of the loan, 100% of the bank's shares belonged to the state. After conducting an investigation, the financial police found out that the bank issued this large loan to two firms – BRC and G&B, affiliated with Abilov. JSC "Butya" acted as a guarantor for the return of money. The investigation also established that $3.6 million of this loan was transferred to the account of LLP NTC Sport, and then to LLP Dinali.
According to the financial police, these two LLPs were inactive – they have not submitted reports to the Tax Committee since the moment of registration. And when it was time to pay off the debts, only $3.1 million was returned to the bank. The rest of the amount – $5.6 million was repaid by the bank from its own funds. The loan was repaid in full only after the police filed a case.
The financial police also touched upon the activities of the investment and privatization fund Butya Capital. Applications from investors of fund began to arrive. The Financial Police started checking. It turned out that in 1995, at an auction, thanks to coupons received from the population, the fund acquired 360,000 shares of Aktobemunaigas JSC. Then the par value of one share was 20 tenge. After registration of the next issue of securities, its cost increased to one and a half thousand tenge. It turns out that as of September 30, 1995, Abilov owned shares worth 540 million tenge.
At some point, he decided to sell the shares of CJSC Global Kazkom Security for 102 million tenge – a loss for the fund amounted to 440 million. In the same 1995, Abilov acquired shares of CJSC Shymkentphosphor in the amount of 202 million tenge, and then sold them to LLP "ASD" for 2 million. It was found that the decisions to sell the shares of these two enterprises were made without the knowledge of the shareholders.
Sensing that he won’t be able to earn impressive capital, and may even end up behind bars, Abilov decided to go into big politics.
Bulat Abilov joined the Otan party, and then became a deputy of the Mazhilis. At the same time, he himself once described his main political credo in Parliament as "eternal opposition to the government."
On November 18, 2001, a group of Kazakh statesmen and public figures, businessmen headed by
Mukhtar Ablyazov and Galymzhan Zhakiyanov announced the creation of the opposition movement "Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan". The founders included: Oraz Janosov, Alikhan Baimenov, Kairat Kelimbetov, Bulat Abilov and others.
On January 19, 2002, the constituent assembly of the DVK was held in Almaty, in which about 1,000 delegates from all regions took part.
Just 10 days later, members of the "moderate wing" of the DVK, led by Alikhan Baimenov, announced the creation of the Ak Zhol political party. She was registered on April 3, 2002. Subsequently, this party also experienced a split, and the new party "Real Akzhol", which included Altynbek Sarsenbayev, Tulegen Zhukeev, Oraz Dzhandosov and Bulat Abilov, was never registered.
In fact, our hero turned out to be not a hero at all: as soon as the smell of fried, and the leader of the DVK Ablyazov was under pressure and investigation, Abilov preferred to portray a very accurate opposition.
However, things didn't work out for the "Real" Ak Zhol " either. Altynbek Sarsenbayev was killed, and the party was renamed “Azat”. Bulat Abilov was elected its chairman.
And here is how oppositionist Zhasaral Kuanyshalin recalled Abilov's political work: