The grandson of late Uzbek leader Islam Karimov has published on his sister Iman’s Instagram page a list of assets confiscated from his mother, Gulnara Karimova, in Uzbekistan.
Karimova, the jailed and disgraced eldest daughter of Karimov, in March received a prison sentence of more than 13 years after she was convicted in a new extortion and embezzlement case. She has been in a Tashkent prison since March last year for allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest—the house arrest was part of a five-year sentence she was given in 2015 on earlier charges of embezzlement and extortion. The current Uzbek government is attempting to seize $1.5bn in foreign assets including luxury properties held by Karimova.
Islam Karimov’s grandson, Islam Karimov Jr. revealed the assets:
- Uzbekistan Post;
- Perfectum Mobile;
- MDS hospital;
- two high-tech clinics;
- 98 apartments in Tashkent;
- Duty Free shops at airports and shopping areas in the city;
- Ucell shares;
- Paynet shares;
- 26 percent stake in Pepsi-Cola;
- A network of Levi's, Benetton, Quicksilver, Mango and other brand stores in Uzbekistan;
- 5 Indian, Italian, French, Chinese and Japanese cuisine restaurants;
- 4 modern cinemas;
- two spa clubs;
- more than 20 construction sites where construction has begun;
- shares in Korzinka supermarkets chain;
- agricultural land plots in Tashkent province and other provinces;
- livestock farms;
- shopping spaces in the city center (more than 20 retail points);
- real estate firms (more than 60) engaged in renting residential and commercial buildings.
Coca-Cola plant
An appeal from the grandson to Uzbekistan’s current president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev—who succeeded Islam Karimov in late 2016—claims that Mirziyoyev’s government transferred the Coca-Cola plant that used to belong to Karimova to an unnamed “son-in-law” of the incumbent.
Grandson Karimov alleges that a number of other assets belonging to his mother were taken away without an official court decision and handed over to the son-in-law.
“We have not heard that our cottage, Coca-Cola and other assets were put up for open bidding, as required by law,” the appeal reads.
Karimov claims that the confiscation of the assets means that his mother had returned $1.2bn to the state, adding that the finance ministry has ignored this fact. Karimova herself has previously cited the $1.2bn figure in asking Mirziyoyev to grant her a release, given her ill health and urgent need for surgery. Karimova said that in return she would stop legally contesting the government’s efforts to confiscate $686mn of her assets frozen by authorities in Switzerland.
Karimova has consistently denied any wrongdoing in the face of all the accusations made against her.
