Humans lawsuit resumes after change in court composition

Proceedings have recommenced in the Humans lawsuit at the Mirabad Interdistrict Court for Civil Cases, following a change in the court's composition. Under Uzbekistan's Code of Civil Procedure, the case will be heard anew from its inception.

The most recent hearing took place on July 24, presided over by a new judicial panel led by Judge Shamsiev. The lawsuit was initiated by Uzbek investor Maksim Sditanov, who claims he was promised a 66% stake in Humans in exchange for a $12 million investment.

This legal dispute arises amidst heightened public scrutiny of Humans, which intensified after millions of dollars were debited from user plastic cards in Uzbekistan during the initial months of 2026.

According to Sherzod Abdulkasimov, the plaintiff's lawyer, the case was reassigned because the previous judge was transferred to a different judicial institution.

Abdulkasimov explained, "As you know, due to the transfer of the judge who considered our claim to another judicial organization, another judge was appointed under the Code of Civil Procedure. The new composition under the Code of Civil Procedure will begin to hear the case again. Today, a speech was heard on the application filed by us, that is, by the plaintiff Maksim Sditanov."

The lawyer also revealed that the plaintiff had requested protective measures for the Humans SuperApp during the ongoing legal process. He stated that the court had sent appeals to 32 technology companies and cloud service providers hosting the application's infrastructure. These appeals instruct them to comply with the court's ruling and prevent any transfer, destruction, or deletion of the application until the proceedings conclude.

Abdulkasimov elaborated, "Now, if you enter the digital platform, Humans License is indicated as the owner of the application. However, Humans License's activities have been suspended. Therefore, taking this into account, we asked to 'ban' the application until the court considers it. We received this ruling from the court so that we would not lose the application we are using."

The plaintiff's representative also addressed the absence of Humans founder Vladimir Dobrynin and his legal counsel from the hearings. Abdulkasimov noted that neither Dobrynin nor his representatives had participated.

"If Dobrynin is not participating in the trial, I believe he has nothing to say to the court. If Maxim Sditanov’s claim is indeed unfounded, or if the evidence he has submitted is inadmissible, and Vladimir Dobrynin has other evidence, I believe he would have already appeared in court,” Abdulkasimov asserted.

He urged Dobrynin to participate in the proceedings, either in person or remotely.

"We are calling on Mr. Dobrynin to attend the trial. If you cannot come, attend via videoconference. Otherwise, you have legal representatives, let them attend the trial on your behalf. If they cannot come to Uzbekistan either, the Supreme Court has also created an opportunity for this. The same issue was discussed today. The court stated that there is such a right. In addition, it was announced that the new court composition will send a summons to Vladimir Dobrynin's personal email," the lawyer stated.

The case will proceed before the newly appointed panel, in accordance with Uzbekistan's Code of Civil Procedure.