Mansur Aripov, an alleged crime boss widely known by the underworld alias Mansur Kazanskiy, has been arrested in Fergana for his suspected involvement in a $200,000 extortion plot targeting a local property owner.
According to the Fergana Police department press service, Aripov initially agreed to purchase a commercial property from a Tashkent resident for $1.2 million. The parties agreed on a deal to finance the transaction through a bank loan secured against the property itself.
Based on this agreement, the deed to the commercial space was notarized and legally transferred to Aripov's name. However, upon reviewing the bank's monthly loan installments and accrued interest rates, Aripov backed out of the financing. Instead of returning the property to its rightful owner, he allegedly held the deed hostage, demanding a $200,000 payout from the victim to sign the property back over.
Investigators state that Aripov and a 58-year-old accomplice doubled down on their scheme by targeting the victim’s business partner. The duo allegedly leveraged fabricated or compromising files to blackmail the partner, threatening them with criminal prosecution unless they paid up.
The extortion ring unraveled during a coordinated sting operation executed by the Fergana Regional Police and the State Security Service (DXX). Law enforcement operatives caught Aripov red-handed at a notary office on Burkhoniddin Marginoni Street in Fergana, arresting him just as he accepted a $100,000 cash installment to return the property deed.
A criminal case has been launched under Article 165 of the Criminal Code (Extortion), and all suspects linked to the operation have been placed in procedural detention. Law enforcement authorities urge any other citizens who may have fallen victim to this group’s activities to step forward and report their cases by dialing 102.
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