International Lawyers Warn Investors Over Uzbekistan’s Treatment of Foreign Fintech Executive Ahead of London IPO

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 (“NBU”), amid Uzbekistan’s upcoming initial public offering of the National Investment Fund of the Republic of Uzbekistan (UzNIF) on the London Stock Exchange later this month.

The firm confirmed that Mr. Uktam Nasulloyevich Xasanov, Solfy’s 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.

On 30 April 2026, the Prosecutor’s Office of Uzbekistan rejected an application by Mr. Xasanov’s 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’s full cooperation with investigators, and instead appeared to arbitrarily maintain custodial pressure despite the absence of any legitimate basis for criminal detention.

Amsterdam & 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.

The 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.

On 2 May 2026, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev publicly stated that his “main goal is to make Uzbekistan a reliable and long-term partner for foreign investors,” while also promising “reliable protection of investors’ rights” and an independent judiciary. The continued detention of Mr. Xasanov directly contradicts those assurances.

The firm warns that the gap between Uzbekistan’s 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.

“The treatment of one foreign investor inevitably becomes a test case for the treatment of all foreign investors,” the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, Robert Amsterdam, stated, adding that: “When 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.”

Amsterdam & Partners LLP calls on the Government of Uzbekistan to immediately and unconditionally release Mr. Xasanov.

His 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.

Amsterdam & Partners LLP is an international law firm specialising in political cases and human rights. For more information, please visit www.amsterdamandpartners.com.