Forte Village reportedly changed hands in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The resort is said to be in the hands of a Kazakh businessman
This change was reported by the Financial Times, citing as its source the Cypriot commercial register, which includes the holding company, Retivia Investments, that owns the Sardinian resort. The previous owner, Chechen oligarch Musa Bazhaev, had acquired the complex in 2014 for around €180 million. But on 25 February 2022, just twenty-four hours after the Russian armies entered Ukraine, he reportedly decided to hand over ownership of Retivia to a relative, who in turn handed it over in early 2023 to Kazakh businessman Shukhrat Ibragimov.
Various transfers of ownership
The move probably served to avoid European sanctions against Russian tycoons, on whose list Bazhaev appears. It also appears that a couple of months earlier, in December 2022, Ibragimov transferred 40% of the ownership of an ordo mine in Kyrgyzstan to the Chechen oligarch: a venture launched in partnership by both businessmen in 2021, together with Ibragimov’s nephew Deni Bazhaev, and of which the Russian family is now the 100% owner.
“There has never been any change in the Italian management”
Interviewed by the Financial Times, Forte Village chief executive Lorenzo Giannuzzi stated that “Progetto Esmeralda, the management company responsible for the resort, never plays any active role in changes of ownership. Moreover, the authorities, as well as financial and commercial institutions, have always been promptly informed of every transaction. In the last two decades, the resort has actually changed ownership at least seven times. However, there has never been any change in the Italian management, which has always ensured the continuity of operations.” Neither Bazhaev nor Ibragimov have made any statements to date.
