Izmir Art Stroy scandal: director detained, new company to resume construction

**Izmir Art Stroy scandal: director detained, new company to resume construction**

On September 15, a meeting was held in Tashkent with citizens who had signed contracts and paid to purchase apartments in residential complexes of Izmir Art Stroy LLC, but are unable to get their homes. The event was attended by the capital's prosecutor Anvar Ormonov and the khokim of Yashnabad district Bakhtiyor Rakhmonkulov.

At the meeting, it was stated that the problem is related to three projects located in the Yashnabad district of the capital — Izmir House on Jarkurgan Street, Neom Tower on Akhangaran Highway, and the Kelajak Uylari complexes.

The construction of 1,152 apartments is planned in the Izmir House project, and a total of 1,536 apartments in the Neom Tower and Kelajak Uylari complexes. Contracts have been concluded and apartments sold for nearly 90 percent of the multi-story buildings. However, the fact that the construction was not completed within the specified timeframe caused protests from citizens. Following appeals from the victims, a criminal case was initiated on June 25, 2026, against officials of Izmir Art Stroy LLC under Article 168 (Fraud) of the Criminal Code regarding the company's activities.

It is noted that the officials of this LLC concluded contracts with 1,530 citizens who wished to purchase apartments in several residential complexes, received 287 billion soums in cash and bank transfers as advance payments, and acquired them through fraud.

So far, 552 citizens have been questioned within the framework of the criminal case.

Anvar Ormonov stated at the meeting that the investigation into the criminal case is ongoing.

According to him, G.H., who was the official director of the company, has been detained. A search has been declared for the unofficial directors — A.M., Z.I., and Z.K. — who are described as having "managed and financed the construction behind the scenes."

According to the prosecutor, after the issue was raised, these individuals left the country and did not appear for the investigation. For this reason, a search was declared for them, and detention was chosen as a preventive measure.

"Having consulted with you, the citizens, we gave them an opportunity and decided to create conditions for them to come and complete the construction processes. But a month has passed — they did not come. Therefore, today (September 15 — ed.) a search was declared for them, and detention was chosen as a preventive measure. This does not mean they have been detained yet. They have been put on the wanted list. With a court warrant, they will be detained on the day of arrest and placed in a detention facility," the prosecutor said.

After that, he mentioned that he was meeting with the new developer for the first time and asked how and with what funds they plan to complete the objects.

The company Global Pipe Trader, headed by entrepreneur Kamoliddin Allamuratov, has been involved to complete the construction of the problematic objects.

Speaking at the meeting, Allamuratov introduced himself as a representative of a large cluster from Surkhandarya. He said he operates in the fields of export, livestock, agriculture, and construction. According to the entrepreneur, the company has reached an agreement to complete the unfinished objects left by Izmir Art Stroy.

He noted that after taking over the objects, work began on resolving deficiencies in the documents, restoring projects, and gradually resuming construction.

According to the entrepreneur, the company has not received any new funds from citizens for construction so far, and the work is being carried out at the expense of the company's own funds. Also, direct contracts have been concluded with construction material suppliers.

"Our main goal is to complete people's homes as quickly as possible. So far, I have not taken a single soum from any citizen," the entrepreneur said.

According to Allamuratov, the company currently has $10 million in its personal account.

He said that it is planned to involve additional workers and equipment to expand the construction. In particular, he announced that work is underway to increase the number of cranes and to establish the supply of concrete, rebar, and gas blocks.

Bakhtiyor Rakhmonkulov said that a separate schedule will be developed for eight blocks on Jarkurgan Street and five blocks on Akhangaran Highway — a total of 13 blocks. It will indicate the timeframes for excavation, foundation, floors, roofing, and other works in each block.

The khokim stated that the schedules will be presented to the citizens, and they will be able to carry out public control over the construction.

"It will be easy for every citizen to monitor their home. On which day the basement is poured, on which day its foundation is laid, on which day the excavation is dug, on which day the roof is covered, on which day the windows are installed — they must know every single process," he said.

Rakhmonkulov emphasized that the new developer is not responsible for circumstances related to the previous activities of Izmir Art Stroy LLC. Therefore, the work must start "from a clean slate" and be monitored based on the new schedules.

Entrepreneur Kamoliddin Allamuratov noted that documents were also taken over along with the construction objects. He stated that because some contracts were not found or there were deficiencies in the documents, work is being carried out to re-collect them and perform apartment-by-apartment calculations.

According to him, how much money each citizen has paid and how much debt remains will be determined. Rather than whether the payment was made in cash, dollars, or through a bank, the main issue is to whom the apartment should be given based on the existing contract and calculations.

The entrepreneur announced that about 140 billion soums have been paid for the objects. Of this, about 120 billion soums were paid for the Jarkurgan project, and more than 20 billion soums for the other two objects.

According to him, cases where multiple contracts were concluded for a single apartment have also been identified.

The validity of such contracts will be verified in cooperation with the investigative authorities.

During the meeting, citizens raised the issue of apartments sold twice, fake contracts, and how to confirm payments.

The capital's prosecutor Anvar Ormonov noted that some apartments may have been sold to several people. Therefore, the exact number of victims will be determined during the investigation process.

"We must complete the housing quickly and with quality. The issue of returning money to citizens will be secondary," the prosecutor said.

He advised citizens to contact the investigative authorities if they encounter a suspicious contract or payment. The new developer stated that they will work with citizens based on contracts whose validity has been confirmed.

One of the citizens suggested keeping separate accounts for each buyer, as the funds for the three objects were accumulated in a single account. The prosecutor supported this proposal and said that a separate calculation would be prepared for each citizen regarding how much they paid for which apartment and how much debt remains.

At the next meeting, it was planned to present these calculations broken down by surnames. If a citizen states that there is a difference between the amount shown in the calculation and the funds actually paid, the issue will be clarified through the investigation.

Another citizen brought up the issue of Aziya Invest Favorit LLC. He said that there, the problem of more than 2,000 citizens was resolved with state intervention. The prosecutor, however, emphasized that this case should not be taken as a general practice.

"That was an exception. The idea that the state will build [the housing] must be dismissed from your minds," Anvar Ormonov said.

One of the citizens asked which account to transfer the funds to that were specified in the contract but have not been paid yet due to the prolonged construction.

The prosecutor of Yashnabad district, Zabikhulla Ziyodullayev, announced that within the framework of the criminal case, the accounts of Izmir Art Stroy and Global Paper Trade have been frozen. It was said that deposits are allowed on them, but withdrawals are restricted.

He explained that if funds are needed for construction, the developer applies to the investigation and prosecution authorities. After that, the funds can be targetedly directed to purchase construction materials — bricks, iron, gas blocks, and other products.

The khokim said that the schedules to be presented by the new developer must first be checked and then approved. He emphasized that the timeframe for each object must be realistic, and citizens must monitor its execution on a weekly basis.

At the meeting, one of the citizens asked whether a loan of 81 billion soums had been taken from banks by the company and whether apartments had been pledged as collateral under this loan.

The new developer Kamoliddin Allamuratov also said that this issue needs to be studied. According to him, if payments have been made for all apartments but they have been pledged as collateral, this situation could affect the future fate of the construction.

Representatives of the khokimiyat and the prosecutor's office stated that the loan issue will also be studied, and the main task now is to continue the construction without stopping.

The head of Global Pipe Trader, Allamuratov, said that the issue of connecting water and gas networks to hand over the completed objects is also urgent. He announced that although some objects are ready in terms of construction, the handover of apartments to citizens is delayed because communication issues have not been resolved.

It was also mentioned that in some buildings, more floors were built than permitted by the project, and this issue also needs to be resolved.

At the end of the meeting, the new developer, Global Pipe Trader, was required to prepare a schedule and estimate clearly showing the volume of work, funds, and deadlines for each object.

The khokim of Yashnabad district, Bakhtiyor Rakhmonkulov, proposed holding the next meeting in a week. He said that at that meeting, when and with what funds the construction is planned to be completed for each block will be shown on a screen, and citizens will have the opportunity to ask questions and exercise public control.

The new developer and his lawyer also announced that each contract will be checked individually, and work will continue with citizens based on contracts whose validity has been confirmed. Citizens, in turn, will have to make subsequent payments according to the schedule.