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Central Asia and Turkey Serving as Way-Points for Russia’s Explosives Imports

Citing an analysis of trade data, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has reported that Russia has boosted its imports of an explosive compound critical to the production of artillery ammunition - including from companies based in the U.S. and other Western countries and allies - despite international sanctions meant to choke Moscow's wartime production. Russian imports of nitrocellulose, a highly flammable cotton product central to gunpowder and rocket propellant production, surged 70% in 2022, the first year of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and midway through 2023 imports amounted to 3,039 tons of the product - nearly double the 2021 level. Another supplier of cotton pulp, China, increased its supplies after U.S. and European (EU) sanctions. However, according to Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, "Sino-Russian economic and trade cooperation is not directed against any third party and should not be violated or coerced by any third party... China does not sell weapons to parties involved in the Ukraine crisis and handles exports of dual-use goods in a reasonable manner in accordance with laws and regulations." According to Russian customs data provided by trade database, Import Genius, Turkish company Noy İç Ve Diş Ti̇caret accounted for nearly half of Russia's nitrocellulose imports since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began, with most of the Istanbul-based company's sales to Russian companies that are government contractors based in Moscow. The Turkish Embassy, as well as representatives of the company, declined to comment. Nitrocellulose supplies to Russia have also been found to contain chemical tracers from the U.S. company, International Flavors & Fragrances, which suspended its direct shipments to Russia in April 2022 but continued them through third countries. The company said its product didn't contain enough nitrogen to be a component of an explosive. However, Michelle Pantoja, a professor of mechanical engineering at Texas Tech University who heads the combustion laboratory's research center, said the nitrogen content of civilian nitrocellulose could be increased to the required level. In December, the U.S. Department of Commerce added nitrocellulose to its list of high-priority controlled commodities, which restricts its exports, and the Treasury Department said it would impose sanctions on banks or other institutions found to be financing such international trades. To be effective, however, sanctions must also apply to nitrocellulose supplier companies, said a Rand analyst. Last year, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) claimed to have documents in its possession which showed that more than 98% of nitrocellulose imported into Russia is supplied by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and that imports have increased since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Import Genius database revealed that in 2022 and early 2023, Fergana Chemical Plant, one of the largest cotton pulp producers in Uzbekistan, not only supplied raw materials to Russian importing companies, but also made direct shipments to two Russian gunpowder plants - one in Kazan, the other in Perm - worth more than $2.2 million. In total, according to a joint investigation by Important Stories, OCCRP and Vlast.kz, the plant supplied 2,700...

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Uzbek-born Billionaire Alisher Usmanov Takes On German Prosecutor

Uzbek-born Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov has filed a complaint alleging a violation of his rights by officers of the General Prosecutor's Office in the German city of Frankfurt am Main. A criminal case has been opened against two prosecutors, according to the newspaper Bild. In 2022 Usmanov was accused of money laundering, prompting law enforcement to search a villa linked to him on Lake Tegernsee in Germany, an apartment near Frankfurt am Main, and a yacht, Dilbar, which was then moored at the port of Bremen. In 2023, a Frankfurt am Main court ruled that the authorities' actions were illegal. The court ordered the return of property confiscated during the search, but this has not been fulfilled. Currently, a preliminary investigation is underway as per Usmanov's complaint. According to Statista, Alisher Usmanov ranked eighth among Russian billionaires in 2023, with a net worth estimated at $14.4 billion. He has been under EU sanctions since 2022, and is suspected of money laundering and tax evasion. Usmanov appealed the EU sanctions, saying they will lead to the bankruptcy of major Russian companies in which he holds large stakes - MegaFon, Metalloinvest and Udokan Copper, noted The Wall Street Journal. The U.K. had until recently imposed restrictions on the billionaire's sisters, Saodat Narzieva and Gulbahor Ismailova, and his adopted son, Nathan (Anton) Wiener, before these were removed in 2022. It was reported that several accounts in the Swiss bank, Credit Suisse, with assets in excess of $2 billion, were at one point registered under Narzieva's name. According to Usmanov, in the near future he intends to step down from his positions in business, and engage further in philanthropy.

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Uzbek Children for Sale: What Compels Mothers to Part With Their Young Ones?

In Uzbekistan, yet more cases of children being sold have been uncovered by officers of the State Security Service. Law enforcement officers recently detained women trying to sell their children in four cities in Uzbekistan. A 29-year-old resident of Namangan tried to sell her ten-year-old son for $18,000 and was detained while receiving an advance payment of $4,000. A 31-year-old resident of Termez agreed to sell her newborn daughter for $2,000. She was detained while handing over the baby and receiving the money. A 33-year-old woman from Bukhara region, more recently living in Gulistan, was detained while trying to sell her two-week-old son for $40,000. And in the capital, a 27-year-old woman from Chirchik was detained for trying to sell her six-year-old son for $3,000. Child trafficking has taken on horrific proportions in recent years in Uzbekistan. According to the World Report on Trafficking in Persons, over the timespan from 2014 to 2020, 380 cases of trafficking in newborns were uncovered here. Year after year, these figures continue to increase. Prices for babies range from $200 to $40,000. There are several reasons that drive mothers to such drastic measures. The first is the overall plight of the mother. Often they have no way to make a living, have lost their husbands, or already have several older children. Another child becomes an impossible burden for her -- which can be eased by earning money to feed, clothe, and house herself and the remaining family members. There have been cases when children were offered in exchange for an apartment. The weak state system of support for women in difficult life situations puts these mothers in an impossible situation, having to choose between living in poverty or giving their children and themselves a chance to live in better conditions in the future. Secondly, fear of shame and being publicly ostracized are major factors. Young women and girls who become pregnant for reasons deemed socially unacceptable -- as well as victims of rape -- experience this. In an attempt to hide the pregnancy and the child, such mothers often temporarily move to another city or region. This can culminate in the mother trying to get rid of the child by selling it far away from their home regions after giving birth. Furthermore, Uzbekistan has a very complicated bureaucratic system of adoption, which helps drive the black market for the trafficking of newborns and children. Because of this bureaucracy, only a few people manage to take the desired child home from an orphanage. Therefore, childless couples look for a way to get a child directly from a maternity hospital. The mediator in such transactions is often the medical staff, who negotiate all the terms of sale with the biological mother and adoptive parents in advance. The problem of selling children in Uzbekistan must be addressed comprehensively, experts say. The introduction of sex education lessons in schools is a necessity, as well as the introduction of state programs to support women in need, tougher penalties for...

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Uzbekistan Warns of Labor Migration Fraud involving United States

The press service of the State Security Service (SGB) of Uzbekistan has reported cases of fraud centered around false promises of helping Uzbek workers obtain documents to work in the United States. The first case took place in the capital, Tashkent, where three fraudsters were caught red-handed defrauding six people out of a total of $32,000 by promising to help them obtain visa documents and send them to work in the U.S. via Europe. The next instance took place in Bukhara, where a thrice-convicted local resident offered to help a friend obtain a visa and employment in the U.S., requesting a payment of $40,000. He was detained in the act of receiving the first payment of $30,000. The next three incidents took place in Samarkand. In the first case, two men offered a resident the same services, but via a roundabout route: Uzbekistan - Turkey - Portugal - Guatemala - Mexico - USA. They also asked for a smaller payment of $23,000. When they received the $10,000 advance payment, they were detained. In the second case, the two promised to provide the same services and send the man on the same route. They also demanded $23,000 and were apprehended when receiving an advance payment. A third case followed a similar pattern. in all cases, criminal proceedings were initiated under articles pertaining to fraud in the criminal code.

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Uzbekistan to Strengthen Protections Against Domestic Violence

Following a project board meeting on February 7th, the UNDP has released plans to provide free legal aid in criminal proceedings for victims of domestic and gender-based violence. In April 2023, Uzbekistan followed Georgia, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine in criminalizing domestic violence. The impetus for this was the ever-increasing number of sex crimes perpetrated on women and minors. For example, in 2019, 99 people were convicted of sexual offenses involving a child under the age of 16, but by 2022, that number was 238. Last April, President Mirziyoyev signed amendments to legislation on the protection of the rights and freedoms of women and children. Experts from both within the government and NGOs, as well as activists from the Nemolchi.uz project, which helps protect women and children from violence, worked on the changes. The new version removes the right for perpetrators of sexual violence to use the argument of mitigating circumstances, and abolishes the right to early parole. Forced abortions can also be punishable by up to three years of correctional labor under certain circumstances. In addition, offenders who have committed sexual violence against a minor will no longer be able to use the argument that they did not know the victim's real age. One of the most anticipated innovations was the criminalization of domestic violence. According to the Committee of Family and Women of Uzbekistan, 21,871 protection orders were issued to victims of harassment and violence in the first seven months of 2023 alone. In 84.7% of those cases, the violence occurred within the family. Administrative or criminal punishment was meted out corresponding to 5,495 protection orders. In Uzbekistan, the overwhelming majority of families adhere to traditional patterns and recognize the dominant position of men as head of the family. Very often, women suffering from domestic violence do not speak about their issues out of fear of condemnation by their families and communities. In addition, such victims are usually financially dependent on the aggressor. In rural areas, girls are married off at a young age without receiving any education. As the UN Development Program (UNDP) Resident Representative in Uzbekistan, Matilda Dimovska observes, "criminalizing public sexual harassment is an important step in combating violence against girls and women. It is a logical continuation of the commitment to gender equality demonstrated at the highest level in Uzbekistan. The adopted legislation makes harassment in public places an administrative offense punishable by a fine of $60-150." In 2023, 666 people were convicted of sexual harassment in Uzbekistan. In recent years, along with its international partners, Uzbekistan has made tangible progress in combating violence against women and children. With UNDP support, a mobile application called Najot (Salvation) was developed with the aim of protecting the rights of victims of violence and providing them with timely assistance. The UNDP also launched a pilot initiative, Call Umida in Uzbekistan in March 2022. "Umida" means hope in Uzbek, and is a common name among women. Places and businesses that have joined the initiative are set up to immediately...

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Uzbekistan Gains Ground Against Corruption in Annual Perception Ranking

International non-governmental organization Transparency International has published its 2023 global ranking of corruption perception. For the last six years, Denmark has held first position, followed by Finland and New Zealand. It's no coincidence that these countries hold the lead in the rule of law index, what with their well-established government and societal institutions and transparent justice systems. Somalia, Venezuela, Syria, South Sudan, and Yemen, which suffer from wars and/or social crises, close out the list. According to the rating, Uzbekistan held 121st place out of 180 - rising five spots on the list in just one year. Over the past decade, the republic has improved its position by 16 spots, becoming the leader in terms of the rate of improvement across the entire index. Among Uzbekistan's neighbors in Central Asia, only Kazakhstan, which ranks 93rd, is higher. In the region, Turkmenistan (170) has the worst record with corruption; Tajikistan is 162nd on the list, and Kyrgyzstan ranked 141st - tied with Russia. According to Transparency International experts, the index revealed that many countries have made little progress in the fight against corruption. Francois Valerian, chairman of Transparency International, said "corruption will continue to thrive as long as justice systems fail to punish wrongdoing and keep governments in check. When justice is bought or interfered with by political forces, people suffer. Leaders must fully invest in and guarantee the independence of institutions that uphold the law and fight corruption. It is time to end impunity for corruption." Transparency International began assessing and compiling the 180-country index in 1995. It's calculated based on perceptions of public sector corruption. The company uses data from 13 external sources, including non-governmental consulting companies and think tanks, the World Bank, the World Economic Forum and others.