Companies linked to Umerov joined joint investment project with Russians in Uzbekistan in 2018 – AntAC
Structures linked to former Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and his associate Lenur Mambetov entered a joint investment project in Uzbekistan with a Russian investor in 2018, after Russia’s occupation of Crimea.
This is stated in an investigation by the Anti-Corruption Action Centre, Censor.NET reports.
According to Uzbek, Azerbaijani and Russian media, entities connected to Umerov and until recently Defense Ministry secretary’s adviser Lenur Mambetov in 2018 joined an investment project to build a cultural and entertainment cluster in Uzbekistan together with Russian partners.
Evidence of the project is provided by a 2018 decree from Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev "On organizational measures for the implementation of the investment project ‘Three Cities,’" as well as media reports and registry documents.
What is known about the Three Cities project
The Uzbek president's decree allocates 116.5 hectares of land in the Fayzabad community near Tashkent for 49 years for free use by the Uzbek company Uzbekistan Film Holding for an investment project. The Azerbaijani news agency En.trend.az reported that the project cost more than $100 million. The Russian news agency Fergana indicated a cost of $150 million. Three cities are to be built under the project.
Judging by satellite images, there is no large-scale construction in Fayzabad. So, the project is not yet being implemented. But there is no information about its closure.
Umerov-Mambetov's connection to the Three Cities project
Companies owned by Rustem Umerov were registered under Mambetov's name in different countries, including Astem Technologies OÜ (Estonia), Infranet Asia (Uzbekistan), and Icapital investments Malta ltd (Malta). Currently, Mambetov is the head of the National Welfare Fund of Crimea, created by another fund, Astem Foundation.
The founders of the latter include Rustem Umerov's brother Aslan Ömer Qırımlı.Mambetov and Rustem Umerov also alternately owned the Ukrainian company Eurasia Engineering and at one time, worked together for the same mobile operator.
Below is a schematic description of the connections:
First, the land for the Three Cities project was granted to the Uzbek company Uzbekistan Film Holding. The same company, according to a decree of the Uzbek president, is the general customer.
According to the Uzbek business aggregator orginfo.uz, 10% of Uzbekistan Film Holding is owned by Uzbek state entities — the National Agency Uzbekkino and the State Committee for Tourism Development of Uzbekistan. The remaining 90% is owned by the private Uzbek company Intellect Enterprise.
In turn, 24% of Intellect Enterprise belongs to Eldar Mustafayev from occupied Crimea. He managed the Uzbek company Infranet Asia, which was co-owned by Rustem Umerov and Lenur Mambetov.
At least two of these investors at the time were linked to Umerov.
Investors of the Three Cities project are linked to Umerov and Mambetov
Everything is simple with Astem: in Ukraine, most legal entities with the word "Astem" in their name belong or have belonged to the former Minister of Defence or his family.
For example, Astem LLC was registered directly with the minister. The Astem Foundation is co-owned by the minister's brother, Aslan Ömer Qırımlı. The former minister and his family also had a number of "Astem" companies registered in the United States.
But the second Cypriot investor in Three Cities, Whiteco Harvest Investments, was also linked to Umerov and Mambetov. Here, the link is more complex, since the company is officially registered to Cypriot nationals whose names are unfamiliar.
Overall, the Umerov-Mambetov connection to the Three Cities project in Uzbekistan looks as follows:
Connection of the Three Cities project with Russians
The Uzbek, Azerbaijani, and Russian press have named Ethnomir LLC (Russia) as one of the investors in the Three Cities project.
Neither Uzbek media nor state websites contain information that would help identify this Russian business. However, judging by the specifics, construction of ethno-hotels and related projects, it appears to be linked to a structure owned by Russian businessman of Azerbaijani origin, Ruslan Bayramov (Ruslan Bayramov Fatali Ogly).
Bayramov owns Russia’s largest ethnographic park, Ethnomir, in Kaluga region. He is a staunch supporter of dictator Vladimir Putin’s policies and has received awards from him.
Above all, Bayramov’s Ethnomir is a network of enterprises that pay taxes into Russia’s budget, funds which go toward the war against Ukraine — including in 2018.
More about Uzbekistan Film Holding
The head of the general contractor Uzbekistan Film Holding is Anvar Irkinovich Irgashev (pictured right below).
"Intellect enterprise"
Fifty-six percent of Intellect Enterprise is also registered to Anvar Irgashev.
The company is managed by pensioner Lidiya Borysivna Orlova. She lives in Tashkent but on Facebook is a member of the group "We speak Russian" and often promotes pro-Russian narratives, portraying Russia as a "superpower."
What Umerov and other figures in the Anti-Corruption Action Center’s investigation say
Rustem Umerov
The Ministry of Defense, on behalf of Rustem Umerov (who at the time of the journalists’ request was serving as Defense Minister), replied:
- "Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has no relation whatsoever to the implementation of the Three Cities project in Uzbekistan.
- Neither the Minister, nor his relatives, nor affiliated persons own or have ever taken part in the activities of ASTEM or Whiteco Harvest Investments in connection with the mentioned project.
- Mr. Umerov does not have, has never had, and does not plan any joint investments or commercial initiatives with citizens of the Russian Federation or with entities connected to the Russian state."
Lenur Mambetov
Lenur Mambetov responded that he is "in no way connected with… the Three Cities investment project in the Republic of Uzbekistan."
Eldar Mustafayev
Eldar Mustafayev, head of Umerov and Mambetov’s Uzbek business, told the Anti-Corruption Action Center via messenger that he participated in the Three Cities project strictly as a private individual, and that it "had nothing to do with his professional or business activities in Uzbekistan."
