Karimov swoops on business leaders
By Bruce Pannier
Some of the wealthiest people in Uzbekistan have reportedly been arrested or
detained over the past several days, or are being hunted down by Uzbek
authorities.
They include the president of one of Tashkent's premier football clubs, the
owner of the country's largest wholesale market, construction magnates and
bankers, according to media reports. Others with ties to big business have
reportedly fled the country.
The crackdown appears to have its origins in a speech President Islam Karimov
gave in December. According to the UzMetronom website, the president said the
authorities would not accept material inequality. "There will be no oligarchs
in our country. If
anyone has yet to understand this, they should bear it in mind," the website
quotes Karimov as saying.
Uzbek officials are portraying this campaign as a sort of anticorruption drive
in a country that rarely allows its "dirty laundry" to be aired in public, but
some sources believe there is more going on than officials are saying.
The country's media isolation makes it difficult to pinpoint what is happening.
Reports refer to financial crimes having been committed, but details are
sketchy.
A Uzbek government official, speaking under condition of anonymity, confirmed
reports that some leading business people are being investigated and some have
been arrested. The official denied that business elites in general are being
targeted, just criminals.
'Events are alarming'
Galima Bukharbaeva, a journalist who has covered events in Uzbekistan for many
years, tells RFE/RL's Uzbek Service that the reported arrests show that even
those among the wealthy who thought they were immune to prosecution are fair
game.
"The events are alarming and at the same time closed off [to publicity],"
Bukharbaeva says. "Taken together, these rumors and unconfirmed information
about a wave of arrests going on among the big businessmen of Uzbekistan show
that no one in Uzbekistan is 100% protected."
Independent websites that report about Uzbekistan, including uzmetronom.com,
uznews.net, and ferghana.ru, have named names. According to the reports, Dmitry
Lim, owner of the Karavan Bazaar, Uzbekistan's largest wholesale market, was
detained along with more than 50 high-ranking employees of the market. Alik
Nurutdinov, who heads the Bekabad cement factory, has reportedly been detained.
Also said to be detained are Batyr Rakhimov, businessman and president of one
of Tashkent's premier football clubs (Pakhtakor). His brother, Bakhtiyor
Rakhimov, is also wanted but reportedly fled the country on learning about
Batyr's arrest. Also reportedly on the run are Alp Jamol-Bank owner Mukhiddin
Asomiddinov and Kyzylkumtsement Works director Rajabbai Jumanazarov. One of the
two Uzbek owners of the Swiss-registered company Zeromax, which is involved in
Uzbekistan's oil and gas industry, have reportedly also been brought in for
questioning.
Media outlets that cover Uzbekistan abound with theories on the reasons behind
the crackdown.
Aleskei Volosevich of ferghana.ru says it could simply be that the state needs
money. "Generally, the people talking about these [arrests] believe that the
state coffers are empty, and because the state coffers are empty the
authorities are forced to find new means of generating revenue," Volosevich
says. "And these means are well known - take over an established and successful
business or threaten legal action to get the rich to put huge amounts of money
into state coffers."
Deeper investigation?
Sergei Ezhkov of uzmetronom.com says this wave of arrests and detentions could
be the start of a deeper investigation targeting people much higher up.
"Those who are wanted for money laundering or avoiding paying taxes or having
ties to corruption, they are needed as sources of information to get at those
corrupt people at the top," he says.
Of possible significance is that some of the enterprises apparently being
checked into belong to Zemlikhan Khaidarov, a shadowy figure who has been the
head of Uzbekistan's presidential apparatus since 1993, a tenure practically
unrivaled in Uzbek politics.
Under one line of thinking, the crackdown could be connected to the president's
daughters. Such reports say Gulnara and Lola are furthering their business
interests in Uzbekistan and possibly eliminating obstacles to any succession
process that would follow when their father is no longer the country's leader.
Ezhkov suggests that Uzbek authorities could be clearing out the old guard to
make way for a new generation that would remain loyal to the Karimov family.
"If you have noticed, lately the president is giving posts to the younger
generation - that is, to people who are younger than 40 or just a bit older
than 40," Ezhkov says. "So there is a change in generation under way in the
government. And because of this, those who have been sitting here and filling
their pockets - namely, those with ties to corruption - cannot take out the
young people. There's a purge going on and this purge is centered in the
economic field. And the goal is not to wipe out business but to get rid of
those with ties to corruption."
Zamira Eshanova of RFE/RL's Uzbek Service contributed to this report.
Copyright (c) 2010, RFE/RL Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington DC 20036
Head
Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East,
Central, Hong Kong Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
