LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Amsterdam & Partners LLP, international counsel to the founder of fintech platform Solfy Uzbekistan, today issued a warning to prospective international investors regarding the conduct of the National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of Uzbekistan (\u201cNBU\u201d), amid Uzbekistan\u2019s upcoming initial public offering of the National Investment Fund of the Republic of Uzbekistan (UzNIF) on the London Stock Exchange later this month.<\/p>
\nThe firm confirmed that Mr. Uktam Nasulloyevich Xasanov, Solfy\u2019s registered agent in Uzbekistan, has remained in detention since 27 March 2026 after being charged under Article 167(3)(a) of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan in connection with an entirely civil corporate dispute between Solfy Uzbekistan and the NBU.<\/p>
\nOn 30 April 2026, the Prosecutor\u2019s Office of Uzbekistan rejected an application by Mr. Xasanov\u2019s local counsel seeking his release from pre-trial detention. According to Amsterdam & Partners, the decision failed to engage meaningfully with the facts of the case or Mr. Xasanov\u2019s full cooperation with investigators, and instead appeared to arbitrarily maintain custodial pressure despite the absence of any legitimate basis for criminal detention.<\/p>
\nAmsterdam & Partners contends that the charges against Mr. Xasanov are without factual or legal merit and have been deployed as leverage to pressure Solfy Uzbekistan into resolving the dispute on terms favourable to the NBU. The use of criminal prosecution as a tool in a commercial conflict raises concerns regarding the rule of law and the protection of foreign investors in Uzbekistan.<\/p>
\nThe case comes at a particularly sensitive moment for Uzbekistan, as the government actively seeks to attract foreign capital through the planned London listing of UzNIF and broader international fundraising efforts.<\/p>
\nOn 2 May 2026, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev publicly stated that his \u201cmain goal is to make Uzbekistan a reliable and long-term partner for foreign investors,\u201d while also promising \u201creliable protection of investors\u2019 rights\u201d and an independent judiciary. The continued detention of Mr. Xasanov directly contradicts those assurances.<\/p>
\nThe firm warns that the gap between Uzbekistan\u2019s public messaging to international markets and the realities experienced by foreign investors operating in the country should be of major concern to institutions considering participation in the UzNIF IPO or exposure to Uzbek sovereign debt.<\/p>
\n\u201cThe treatment of one foreign investor inevitably becomes a test case for the treatment of all foreign investors,\u201d the firm\u2019s Founder and Managing Partner, Robert Amsterdam, stated, adding that: \u201cWhen criminal detention is used as leverage in a commercial dispute involving a state-owned bank, international markets are entitled to ask serious questions about legal predictability, judicial independence and sovereign reliability.\u201d<\/p>
\nAmsterdam & Partners LLP calls on the Government of Uzbekistan to immediately and unconditionally release Mr. Xasanov.<\/p>
\nHis release, the firm argues, would represent an important first step towards demonstrating that Uzbekistan is capable of distinguishing between legitimate criminal enforcement and commercial disputes, and that it remains committed to the legal certainty required to sustain international investor confidence.<\/p>
\nAmsterdam & Partners LLP is an international law firm specialising in political cases and human rights. For more information, please visit www.amsterdamandpartners.com<\/a>.<\/p>