Uzbek Banker Kidnapped in Paris

Kahramonjon Olimov, a 48-year-old shareholder and supervisory board member of Uzbekistan’s Anorbank, was kidnapped in Paris in a brazen extortion scheme, Orda.kz reports. 

According to Le Monde, the abduction took place on June 23 in the 8th arrondissement of the French capital.

Olimov had traveled to Paris for a business deal but was lured into a meeting by a woman named Anastasia, with whom he had recently become acquainted. Upon arrival, he was seized by three men — reportedly speaking with Chechen accents — who forced him into a vehicle and drove him outside the city.

The banker told authorities he was brought to a private residence with a high fence, where he recognized a well-known “thief in law” allegedly connected to a former banking partner. There, he was beaten, threatened with having a finger cut off, and subjected to a mock hanging.

He was later transported to the basement of a villa in Nice. There, he was coerced into filming a video apology, signing a document acknowledging a $5 million debt, and transferring $200,000 via a driver in Tashkent.

After the payment, he was released.

Olimov filed a complaint with French police and has since returned to Tashkent, where he reportedly increased his personal security. On July 1, one of the suspects — a Turkish citizen — was arrested in France and charged with kidnapping by an organized group.

Anorbank emphasized that the incident was “non-corporate in nature” and had no impact on the bank’s operations.

French media report that Olimov had arrived in Paris to finalize a real estate transaction and discuss a gas power plant project in Uzbekistan’s Surkhandarya region, in partnership with French state utility EDF.

A medical report confirmed multiple injuries, and Olimov later reported experiencing anxiety and insomnia.

This case echoes another recent high-profile kidnapping: Shukhrat Ismatulloev, deputy chair of Tajikistan’s Orienbank, was abducted, tortured with electricity and a hair dryer, and killed.

His body was later thrown into a river. 

Authorities linked the crime to an organized criminal group, one member of which — Rustam Ashurov — opened fire at Chisinau airport and was later killed by special forces.

Original Author: Ruslan Loginov