Kazakh businessman denies responsibility for Hydra wildfire
A prominent Kazakh businessman rejected allegations on Monday that he or any of the passengers onboard a luxury yacht were responsible for a wildfire that broke out on the Saronic island of Hydra by fireworks launched from the ship on June 21.
The blaze burnt through 300 acres of the only pine forest on the tourist island, which lies south of Athens.
“It came as a complete surprise to us to learn of the accusations that followed in the press upon our return, and I categorically deny any wrongdoing,” said Daniyar Abulgazin in statement published in the online edition of Forbes Kazakhstan.
“Neither I nor my guests did anything that could have led to the fire. We strictly followed the fire safety rules established on the yacht. Neither I nor my guests asked the yacht’s crew or other third parties to take any actions that could have led to a fire,” he added and expressed his “deepest regrets” for the blaze.
Abulgazin said he rented the Persephone I yacht from noon on June 15, to noon on June 22, to organize a cruise for himself and his guests around the islands of Greece.
He said Greek authorities spoke with him and his guests before their departure from Greece, which was originally scheduled for June 22, but did not did not make any accusations against him over the blaze and was allowed to leave the country.
Abulgazin said he will cooperate with the Greek authorities in the investigation.
Guests on the yacht, the Persefoni I, included seven Kazakhs, according to a manifest obtained by investigative journalism outlets Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and Inside Story. The ship’s manifest shows that Abulgazin’s son and his wife, Aidan Suleimenova, who heads one of Kazakhstan’s biggest charities, were also on board, along with her deputy.
Other guests included Umut Shayakhmetova, the CEO of Kazakhstan’s largest financial institution, Halyk Bank, her husband, Beimbet Shayakhmetov, a former top manager of the national oil company, KMG International NV, and their daughter.
On June 27, the Greek captain and lieutenant of the yacht were sent to pretrial detention while the remaining 11 crew members were released on bail with an obligation to appear every month at the Police Department.
Greek prosecutors have also charged eight Kazakh passengers with complicity in arson after new evidence was uncovered during a forensic investigation at the site of the fire.
The Piraeus Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched a preliminary inquiry into the firefighting and port authorities’ handling of a wildfire on the Saronic island of Hydra sparked by fireworks shot off the privately chartered yacht.
The focus is on investigating any oversights that permitted the yacht’s lessees, to depart Greece despite suspicions of their involvement in the blaze.
