Ovik Mkrtchyan's corruption schemes: from Karimova's “shadow” deals to the offshore operations of the Mirziyoyev family
A remarkable feature of Ovik Mkrtchyan's professional journey is not only his engineering of capital flight from Uzbekistan but also his aptitude for navigating political shifts and aligning with the Mirziyoyev family, an outcome that escaped the grasp of many Karimov's confidants.
For instance, the incoming administration managed to retrieve misappropriated funds of the ex-president’s daughter, Gulnara Karimova, in Switzerland, where a sum of $313 million was seized.
Karimova herself was handed a severe prison term. But Ovik Mkrtchyan, whose entities were directly complicit in transferring funds from Uzbekistan for the Karimov family, not only remained unscathed during the purges of the former elite figures but also appears quite secure under the current leadership. Furthermore, he hosts global gatherings in the nation’s capital, which even feature attendees from the uppermost tiers of US authority at his behest. Among them were former US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and Thomas Shannon, the previous Under Secretary of State.
The link between Ovik Mkrtchyan and these leading American figures can only be guessed at. Nevertheless, Rick Perry, for example, sits on the Advisory Board of Gor Investment Limited, where Ovik Mkrtchyan acts as a business advisor. Behind the alluring title and worldwide reputation of Gor Investment lies a mundane entity for funneling funds pilfered by Uzbekistan’s ruling class into foreign accounts. This has been keenly pursued by Ovik Mkrtchyan since at least 1999, when the company was founded. Though, at that time, the organization carried a somewhat different name – Gorefield Investment Group. It was established in the British Virgin Islands, renowned for their permissive financial regulations. However, after Gorefield Investment Group surfaced in the Panama Papers, the title had to be altered. But the heart of the matter remained unchanged – directing capital to offshore locations.
Ovik Mkrtchyan's corruption schemes: from Karimova's “shadow” deals to the offshore operations of the Mirziyoyev family
It has been widely understood that Gorefield Investment Group was personally overseen by Gulnara Karimova. Just as the fact that some of the appropriated funds transited explicitly through Gorefield Investment Group and flowed straight to Switzerland, where the incoming regime located them. In Switzerland, Ovik Mkrtchyan and Gorefield Investment Group’s connection was with the company Ryon Ltd, which still maintains the designation of “active.”
Ovik Mkrtchyan's corruption schemes: from Karimova's “shadow” deals to the offshore operations of the Mirziyoyev family
From Ryon Ltd, there are numerous linkages to make any definitive conclusions. Notably since nearly all these connections also reside in overseas territories or are protected by the judicial structures of nations from intrusive eyes, however some of them ignite considerable interest.
Ovik Mkrtchyan's corruption schemes: from Karimova's “shadow” deals to the offshore operations of the Mirziyoyev family
Sadly, there is insufficient data at hand to further explore the subject of the connections between Gor Investment Limited, Ryon Ltd, and other businesses. But there exists further details that are also publicly available. Moreover, this information is disseminated by Ovik Mkrtchyan himself. In the past year a sequence of articles emerged in which Ovik Mkrtchyan publicized his new undertaking – the Center for Youth Initiatives in Tashkent, “constructed by the British investment firm Gor Investments, established by Ovik Mkrtchyan.” From these interviews, it appears that Ovik Mkrtchyan has already switched allegiances towards Shavkat Mirziyoyev and “draws investments to the nation.”
Ovik Mkrtchyan's corruption schemes: from Karimova's “shadow” deals to the offshore operations of the Mirziyoyev family
Additionally, from Mkrtchyan’s statements, one might deduce that his focus is geared towards rare earth elements, which, coincidentally, the new US government takes great interest in. Nonetheless, it is uncertain if the factory pledged by Ovik Mkrtchyan to manufacture “nanopowder of molybdenum trioxide” will operate precisely as Mkrtchyan portrays.
Yet there is no uncertainty in another respect – Mkrtchyan not only succeeded in switching benefactors but also discovered avenues to the new administration of Uzbekistan. Individuals from the new ruling circle are evidently prepared to employ Ovik Mkrtchyan’s expertise not solely in appropriating Gulnara Karimova’s possessions, surrendering all her Swiss accounts to the new authority and thereby negotiating for himself a pardon, but also in shifting now their wealth to foreign accounts.
Furthermore, Karimova’s finances are not being dispatched directly to Uzbekistan but are instead deposited in accounts of the trust fund Uzbekistan Vision 2030 “under the aegis of the UN” in the USA. According to the Chief of the Secretariat of the Uzbekistan Vision 2030 Trust Fund, the recovery timeframe, that is, the seizure of the Karimov’s assets, is scheduled for a minimum of eight years, and the total amount involved is 850 million dollars. All these assets must be cleverly concealed from the scrutiny of US financial regulators, in which undoubtedly Ovik Mkrtchyan's extensive experience will be valuable.
Read more: Ovik Mkrtchyan's Corruption Schemes: From Karimova's “Shadow” Schemes to the Mirziyoyev Family's Offshore Operations
Another instance further suggests that Ovik Mkrtchyan established commonality with Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s family — his identity is referenced in the inquiry into the chief security personnel implicated in the attempted assassination of former presidential press secretary Komil Allamjonov and the extradition of businessman Ulugbek Shadmanov from the UAE.
In this scenario, Ovik Mkrtchyan is presented as a casualty, since, as he personally reports, Shadmanov together with currently detained members of Uzbekistan’s State Security Service (SSS) “abducted and tormented him for 85 days, extracting 70 million dollars.” In addition, according to Mkrtchyan, “Shadmanov insisted that he [Mkrtchyan] utilize his international contacts to arrange the implementation of US sanctions against Komil Allamjonov, former press secretary of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and one of the nearest colleagues of his eldest daughter Said, as well as Dmitriy Lee, director of the Agency for Prospective Projects under the President of Uzbekistan.”
Indisputably, this endeavor by the intelligence agencies could not have been unapproved but subsequently something evidently transpired at the highest levels, and everything proceeded according to an alternate course, which resulted in Ovik Mkrtchyan morphing into an unjustly aggrieved “enemy of the state.” Evidently, it was those “international contacts” that aided him. Which the Shavkat Mirziyoyev family required for their individual goals. The financial toll on Ovik Mkrtchyan remains unknown. But despite the cost, the prominent figures have struck an agreement. This is affirmed by both the status of Ovik Mkrtchyan in the Ulugbek Shadmanov case and his recent venture – the Center for Youth Initiatives, which masks plainly dishonest aims of pilfering Uzbekistan’s wealth for the benefit of the governing elite.
