Update 09 Jan 2025: Yesterday, the UAE extradited Ulugbek Shadmanov to Uzbekistan without any judicial process. Uzbekistan joined BRICS on the 1st of January and have already extradited a target without having to go through the courts. Further updates shortly. Follow Radha Stirling on X for more.
UAE Golden Visa holder fights extrajudicial extradition after his estate was stormed by special forces in Dubai. The prominent CEO is being held somewhere in Dubai but hope is dwindling as the Emirates rulers decide whether to extrajudicially extradite him to Uzbekistan where economically motivated charges are being manufactured. His US Attorney is lobbying for the case to go through court where his client at least has a chance to present his case.
United Cement Group (UCG) owner, Ulugbek Shadmanov, moved to Dubai under the UAE’s Golden Visa where he’s resided for several years. He conducts business, actively invests in the country’s economy under the Golden Visa, which underscores his contribution to the state’s development. UCG is the largest cement holding in Central Asia, operating in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, employing over 7,000 individuals.
Uzbekistan’s ongoing political rivalries and tribal clashes caused instability in the country with many business owners opting to pack up and leave. “The bigger the fish, the more at risk”, explains Due Process International founder, crisis manager and extradition expert, Radha Stirling. “When a country becomes unstable or when corruption is rife, those with substantial assets are very much at risk. Charges will be fabricated against them as a means to misappropriate their life’s work. Uzbekistan has suffered widespread corruption issues, bribery, embezzlement. Ulugbek was very much at risk of targeting. He opted to relocate to the UAE and manage his business from safety”.
Mr Shadmanov, a highly influential businessman with an impeccable reputation, increased cement production and had planned to support rebuilding efforts in Ukraine. “He felt safe in the UAE”, adds Stirling, “that the Emirates would protect him from any politically motivated attempts to target him and his businesses, that is, until the 10th of December 2024”.
Mr Shadmanov was meeting with his US attorney, Mark Agnifilo, when his estate was stormed by a fully armed special forces unit in combat gear. Mr Agnifilo and another American associate lay face down on the floor as the three were restrained and handcuffed. The two Americans were eventually released and told to go home to the US while Mr Shadmanov has not been heard from since.
Local lawyers say the UAE appears to be considering extraditing him without going through the courts and affording him the chance to legally defend himself. “This is truly frightening”, says Ms Stirling. “Imagine living in a country because it appears safer and modern with a proper legal system to then find you can be flown out in the night at the click of a finger”. UAE authorities have apparently asked Uzbekistan if they can produce any charges and the country is now conjuring up paperwork to legitimise the request but Stirling says, “it is quite clear that powers in Uzbekistan are targeting Mr Shadmanov as a means to misappropriate his assets. We are certain that if he is extradited, he will be tortured until he signs over all of his holdings. His family fear for his life and are begging the UAE to at least give him due process. He hasn’t committed any crime. His family can’t imagine what he will go through if he is sent to Uzbekistan. They don’t believe they will ever see him again.
“The UAE has processed a number of extradition requests over the years and has moved towards a more stringent process whereby individuals are able to submit a defence in court and will be protected if they risk serious human rights violations or torture. Uzbekistan has been widely criticised for systematic torture used by security forces to extract confessions, punish political dissidents, intimidate critics, and maintain the regime’s control over the population. There is absolutely no doubt that Mr Shadmanov is in this risk category and that the request is politically and economically motivated”.
There is suggestion Uzbekistan may even be trying to fabricate allegations that Mr Shadmanov was somehow implicated in an assassination attempt. Attorney Mark Agnifilo confirms “there are currently no formal charges against him in connection with the incident and he categorically denies any involvement. His detention and the decision to deport him are troubling at best.
“Mr. Shadmanov, who has no prior record of misconduct, is now in a grave situation. I understand that Mr. Shadmanov has been held in isolation, has not been allowed to see counsel, and has not appeared before a court. I further understand that UAE authorities have initiated steps to deport Mr. Shadmanov to Uzbekistan, where he faces the real risk of unjust persecution and imprisonment based on politically motivated and unsubstantiated accusations.
“Deportations under circumstances likely to lead to torture or arbitrary imprisonment violate international human rights obligations, including the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to which the UAE is a party. Mr. Shadmanov could well be subject to just such treatment if send forcibly to Uzbekistan.”
Mr Agnifilo has urged UAE authorities to release Mr Shamanov, allow him access to legal representatives to ensure his right to a fair trial and transparent legal process and to respect international obligations to protect individuals from refoulement to countries where they are at risk of persecution, torture, or other severe violations of their rights. “To date, I have formed a professional team of former investigators and operatives who have initiated an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the persecution of my client, including identifying those responsible for these actions worldwide”, Mr Agnifilo said in a statement.
“Based on my experience and analysis, I am convinced that all charges against my client are unfounded and nothing more than an attempt to deprive him of his assets and politically discredit him”.
Mr Shadmanov’s defence team is calling on the UAE to thoroughly investigate and refrain from surrendering him throughout the course of legal proceedings. “Extraditions should not be agreed through diplomacy, but through judicial process”, adds Stirling. “If investors are to feel safe in the country, they need to be assured of due legal process and the presumption of innocence. It is a tragedy when someone is wrongfully extradited to a country where they will be abused, tortured or even killed. The UAE recently declined Sherif Osman’s politically motivated extradition to Egypt and we hope they will give the same treatment to Mr Shadmanov. He should not be extradited simply because of his citizenship”.
