Russian prosecutors sue new FIDE president Timur Turlov

Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has filed a civil lawsuit against Kazakhstani businessman Timur Turlov and Freedom Finance, the holding company he founded, according to RBC. The suit was submitted by a deputy prosecutor general to Moscow's Tverskoy District Court. The exact nature of the claim has not been made public. Named defendants include Freedom Holding Corp., Freedom Finance Europe Ltd., and W-Empirical Holding Corp.

In a statement, Freedom Holding said it does not yet understand the substance or validity of the lawsuit but will examine the matter. The company said it sees no significant risk to its operations, noting it holds no assets in Russia and does not conduct business there.

Background on Turlov

Turlov was born in Moscow but renounced his Russian citizenship in 2022 to become a Kazakhstani citizen, having already lived in Kazakhstan with his family for more than a decade by that point. He first appeared on Forbes' global rich list in 2021 with an estimated fortune of $2.1 billion, and was added to Forbes' Russian billionaires list in spring 2022. In 2026, Forbes Kazakhstan ranked him sixth among the country's 75 wealthiest businesspeople, estimating his fortune at $5.2 billion.

Turlov founded Freedom Holding, a financial services company, in 2008 while still a university student in Russia. Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the company sold off its Russian assets, which now operate under the names Tsifra Broker and Tsifra Bank. Freedom Holding currently provides financial services in 22 countries, including Kazakhstan, the United States, EU member states, Uzbekistan, and Armenia.

On September 26, Turlov was elected president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), succeeding former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, who is under EU sanctions.