Uzbek authorities have issued an international arrest warrant for Vladimir Dobrynin, the founder and CEO of Humans, via Interpol. His name now appears on the "Red Notice" list on Interpol’s official website.
An Interpol Red Notice serves as a global request for law enforcement agencies to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition. Dobrynin faces charges involving the organization of illegal gambling and high-risk games, as well as the legalization (money laundering) of criminal proceeds. According to the international organization, the 52-year-old Dobrynin was born in Austria and holds Russian citizenship.
The Humans Case in Uzbekistan
HUMANS.uz positioned itself as a "super-app," integrating fintech, mobile services, and an online marketplace. By June 2022, the platform boasted over 2 million active users and operated 1,134 retail locations across Uzbekistan.
However, the venture took a litigious turn in May 2025, when the Singapore-based founding company, Humans Mobile Ltd, filed a lawsuit against the Government of Uzbekistan with the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The company alleged that state entities, including the Central Bank and Uztelecom, systematically sabotaged the business, violating a bilateral investment protection treaty between Uzbekistan and Singapore. An arbitration tribunal was formally established in January 2026.
Simultaneously, the company is mired in domestic legal battles. On October 14, 2025, the Tashkent Interdistrict Economic Court declared ООО "Humans" bankrupt following a petition by Octobank (formerly Ravnaq-bank). The company reportedly owes approximately 430 billion soums linked to the suspension of Visa co-branded card services in mid-2025. Furthermore, the state-owned Uztelecom is seeking over 532 billion soums for infrastructure fees—a claim Humans contested by accusing Uztelecom of monopolistic price gouging.
The scandal is further complicated by internal power struggles and fraud allegations. Uzbek citizen Maxim Sidanov claims he invested $12 million into the project and is seeking a 66% ownership stake based on prior agreements. Meanwhile, late 2025 saw a wave of customer complaints regarding unauthorized withdrawals from Humans cards. While the company blamed technical glitches and cyberattacks, the Central Bank concluded an investigation and handed the findings over to the Tashkent Police Department for criminal evaluation.
