Kazakhstan president’s nephew cheated his way into Columbia University: lawsuit
The grifter who swindled his gloriously connected Kazakh stepfather out of a $20 million Plaza condo also conned his way into Columbia University, court papers charge.
Daniyar Nazarbayev — whose stepdad is the brother of Kazak President Nursultan Nazarbayev — landed at the college using “fraudulent and fabricated” paperwork from a high school he didn’t actually attend, the court papers say.
When applying, Daniyar allegedly claimed he had graduated from a high school in Kazakhstan.
He actually went to high school in Switzerland — and never graduated, sources said.
Even Daniyar’s influential last name isn’t real, the court papers say.
His actual surname is Kesikbayev. His mother, Maira, allegedly had his birth certificate changed after she married Bolat Nazarbayev in 2001.
The marriage was annulled last year.
Daniyar, now 24, graduated from Columbia in 2010. A knowledgeable source said that the allegations were reported to Columbia but that it was unclear whether school officials had taken action.
Daniyar’s name is still in the school’s alumni directory.
A Columbia spokesman refused to comment.
The allegations are part of Bolat’s suit against Maira and her son in Manhattan Supreme Court, where he has accused them of taking advantage of his trust to swipe the Plaza pad and help themselves to two other multimillion-dollar apartments on Wall Street.
Bolat says he has discovered that Maira has had several aliases — and that she’s wanted by Interpol and Kazakh authorities for crimes including kidnapping and extortion.
But Maira, 50, now lives in her son’s condo at The Plaza, a four-bedroom, 4,000-square-foot apartment with 3 1/2 bathrooms. It has been listed as a $68,000-a-month rental.
She was unable to be reached for comment. There was no phone number for the apartment, and The Post was not allowed by Plaza security to knock on her door last week.
Daniyar, meanwhile, is missing.
In court filings, Bolat’s lawyers said they have searched for him in five countries — including Malaysia, where he’s reportedly engaged to the prime minister’s daughter, Nooryana Najwa, whom a source said he met at Columbia.
Bolat had been looking to buy a New York apartment in 2008, and Maira and Daniyar got him to give them power of attorney so they could close the deal without him present.
The suit says Daniyar was supposed to put the apartment in his stepdad’s name but added his mom’s. About eight months later, she sold it to Daniyar for $1, court papers say.
dareh.gregorian@nypost.com
Daniyar Nazarbayev — whose stepdad is the brother of Kazak President Nursultan Nazarbayev — landed at the college using “fraudulent and fabricated” paperwork from a high school he didn’t actually attend, the court papers say.
When applying, Daniyar allegedly claimed he had graduated from a high school in Kazakhstan.
He actually went to high school in Switzerland — and never graduated, sources said.
Christian Johnston
Daniyar Nazarbayev
His actual surname is Kesikbayev. His mother, Maira, allegedly had his birth certificate changed after she married Bolat Nazarbayev in 2001.
The marriage was annulled last year.
Daniyar, now 24, graduated from Columbia in 2010. A knowledgeable source said that the allegations were reported to Columbia but that it was unclear whether school officials had taken action.
Daniyar’s name is still in the school’s alumni directory.
A Columbia spokesman refused to comment.
The allegations are part of Bolat’s suit against Maira and her son in Manhattan Supreme Court, where he has accused them of taking advantage of his trust to swipe the Plaza pad and help themselves to two other multimillion-dollar apartments on Wall Street.
Bolat says he has discovered that Maira has had several aliases — and that she’s wanted by Interpol and Kazakh authorities for crimes including kidnapping and extortion.
But Maira, 50, now lives in her son’s condo at The Plaza, a four-bedroom, 4,000-square-foot apartment with 3 1/2 bathrooms. It has been listed as a $68,000-a-month rental.
She was unable to be reached for comment. There was no phone number for the apartment, and The Post was not allowed by Plaza security to knock on her door last week.
Daniyar, meanwhile, is missing.
In court filings, Bolat’s lawyers said they have searched for him in five countries — including Malaysia, where he’s reportedly engaged to the prime minister’s daughter, Nooryana Najwa, whom a source said he met at Columbia.
Bolat had been looking to buy a New York apartment in 2008, and Maira and Daniyar got him to give them power of attorney so they could close the deal without him present.
The suit says Daniyar was supposed to put the apartment in his stepdad’s name but added his mom’s. About eight months later, she sold it to Daniyar for $1, court papers say.
dareh.gregorian@nypost.com
