Prince Harry and Cressida Bonas hit the slopes at Kazakhstan ski resort

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Couple flew by helicopter to resort of Shymbulak in the former Soviet state
It is part-owned by leading property magnate Serzhan Zhumashov, 47
He says he operates in the 'grey area' between the public and private sectors and has built luxury restaurants, hotels and cinemas
Kazakhstan is a secretive dictatorship accused of human rights abuses
During the couple's stay they posed for photographs with other skiers

PUBLISHED: 20:50 EST, 24 March 2014 | UPDATED: 15:05 EST, 25 March 2014

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Prince Harry has taken his girlfriend Cressida Bonas on a skiing trip to Kazakhstan but the couple are staying at a resort owned by a wealthy oligarch with ties to the dictatorship's political elite.

The couple, who are experienced skiers, flew by government helicopter to the exclusive resort of Shymbulak in the former Soviet state for a ‘private holiday’.

However, the Shymbulak resort is part-owned by Serzhan Zhumashov, whose construction firm is the leading builder of luxury property in Kazakhstan.

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Skiing: Prince Harry, second right, pictured on the slopes at the Shymbulak resort in Kazakhstan

Pose: Harry was happy to take photographs with members of the public while skiing

The oligarch has admitted that he has partly prospered thanks to his political connections - saying that he operates in the 'grey area' between the country's private and public sectors.

He has also used his estimated £130million wealth to build links with the West - including opening a Kazakh offshoot of a leading English public school.

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Kazakhstan has been led by president Nursultan Nazarbayev - an autocratic leader who has suppressed political opposition - ever since becoming independent from the USSR in 1991.

Mr Nazarbayev has been accused of human rights abuses including censorship and even torture - but he controversially hired Tony Blair as an adviser on a contract reportedly worth £8million.

Chopper: The prince and his girlfriend Cressida Bonas used a helicopter to reach the ski slopes

Landing: Skiers watched as the helicopter carrying the couple came in to land

Crowd: Harry in the background with well-wishers, standing in front of the resort's chairlift

Prince Harry and Miss Bonas, who first met in summer 2012, reportedly arrived by helicopter to stay a luxury chalet in the mountains above the city of Almaty.

During their stay they were seen posing for photographs with other skiers.

It was on a previous ski holiday in the Swiss resort of Verbier that Prince Harry, 29, and Miss Bonas, 25, were first spotted openly embracing.

Although enthusiasts might not choose it as the go-to place to hit the slopes, Kazakhstan has a cold winter which ensures it has powdery snow until late in the season.

The holiday will fuel further speculation that Prince Harry and Miss Bonas, a dance graduate who works in theatre marketing, are becoming more serious about each other.

Earlier this month, the couple enjoyed a rare public outing together at Twickenham to watch England defeat Wales at rugby.

Other dates include trips to high street burger chain Byron and the Cirque du Soleil production of Quidam at the Royal Albert Hall.

In a step that proves how their relationship has matured, Miss Bonas has been invited to co-host a formal dinner with Harry in the Queen’s rooms at St James’s Palace.

The prince is to host a private dinner party to honour the war heroes he trekked to the South Pole with before Christmas.

Pulling power: Prince Harry and Cressida Bonas on the slopes in Switzerland last year

Luxury: A ski lift in the resort of Shymbulak. Kazakhstan has a cold winter which ensures it has powdery snow until late in the season

Landscape: The pair are said to be staying at a luxury chalet in the mountains above the city of Almaty

The Shymbulak resort – set among dramatic peaks that separate China from the Russian steppes – has only one main slope.

It is frequented by wealthy Russians, many of whom are in the country as part of the oil and gas trade.

Skiing is too expensive for most Kazakhs, many of whom still work in heavy industry that is the legacy of the Soviet system.

The couple may have chosen their skiing destination with help from Prince Andrew – who developed strong links with the former Soviet state in his capacity as Britain’s special trade representative.

Andrew sold his home in Ascot to a tycoon from Kazakhstan and is a frequent guest of the country’s president Nursultan Nazarbayev with whom he goes goose-hunting.

Cressida Bonas: First public outing with Prince Harry

Display of affection: It was on their ski holiday to the resort of Verbier that they were spotted openly embracing for the first time

Relationship: The holiday will fuel further speculation that Prince Harry and Miss Bonas, a dance graduate who works in theatre marketing, are becoming more serious about each other

Miss Bonas – the granddaughter of the 6th Earl Howe, whose title dates back to 1788 – boarded at £30,000-a-year Stowe School in Buckingham and is the daughter of Old Harrovian Jeffrey Bonas.

Her mother Lady Mary Gaye has had an unconventional lovelife.

Her five children are by three of her four husbands, all divorced.

Her fourth husband, financier Christopher Shaw, died in January aged 76. Cressida comforted her mother at his funeral, but Prince Harry was not seen in attendance.

Meeting: Prince Charles and Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev at the Presidential Palace in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 1996

Harry was previously involved in a turbulent seven-year relationship with Zimbabwe-born Chelsy Davy until 2011.

A spokesman for the Prince declined to comment, saying any trip would have been a ‘private holiday’. But royal sources confirmed the couple had been away together.

But sources close to the prince said the trip had been organised by a friend and he and Cressida had 'tagged along'.

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Tweedle Dee, Edinburgh, moments ago

They are a cancerous mole on British society

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Tweedle Dee, Edinburgh, moments ago

The queen measures bowls of savoury nuts to ensure that police patrolmen who guard her at Buvkingham palace dont snack them during there rounds. Unbelievable. This country going to the dogs!

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Tweedle Dee, Edinburgh, moments ago

Get rid of this parasitic monarchy

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Tweedle Dee, Edinburgh, moments ago

Get rid of this parasitic monarchy

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Cross old bird, Brighton, United Kingdom, 5 minutes ago

They're so easily bought, these so called Royals

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Tweedle Dee, Edinburgh, 5 minutes ago

When will we get rid of these freeloading parasites? All I see the royals do is wile there time away buying flash cars, going on expensive holidays and taking hard earned tax payers money and waste it.

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GVF, London, 6 minutes ago

Time to get rid of them all.

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joe, hove, 8 minutes ago

These royals certainly know how to live it up at our expense. Just what bit of being mugged don't the royalists get.

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michael leah, hong kong, Hong Kong, 9 minutes ago

Good luck to Harry and Cressida; good luck to Serzhan Zhumashov. Were we dealt the same hand in life (none of them chose), who knows what we'd be doing right now. But then, driven by envy, it's always easier to criticise than to simply wish them well.