The refutation
On October 23, 2015, the editorial office of the Fergana.Ru Information Agency Limited Liability Company received a letter entitled “The demand to refute information that blemish business reputation and not corresponding the truth” that was signed by Uzbek citizen Irgashev Bakhtiyor Ilyasovich and a representative of the Benif Ltd Limited Liability Company Joint Venture.
The letter reads the following, in part:
“Between November 11, 2013, and February 06, 2014, same information that blemish the business reputation of Irgashev Bakhtiyor Ilyasovich (hereinafter referred to as Irgashev B.I.) and BENIF LTD LLC JV, and are untrue were published in two different articles (hereinafter referred to jointly as “Articles”) in the Russian and English languages under different headlines on the Internet on the following websites: http://www.fergananews.com, /en/ and http://www.rospres.com/.
The aforementioned information was published under the following links: http://www.fergananews.com/articles/7957, /en/articles/2870, and http://www.rospres.com.
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Based on Article 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, if information that blemishes honour, dignity or business reputation of a citizen (legal entity) are published by mass media outlets (the Internet or other information sources), they must be refuted in the originating sources by the party that disseminated such information whether voluntarily or at court’s orders.
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In accordance with Article 43 of the federal law on mass media outlets, a physical or legal entity has the right to demand the editorial office issues a refutation of information that are untrue and blemish their honour and dignity, which the mass media outlet of this editorial office published.
In case the citizen or organisation in question provides a text of refutation, said text must also be published.
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In case [the editorial office in question] refuses to publish the refutation or remove the aforementioned articles, we are hereby informing you that we reserve the right to go to court for the protection of violated rights. Further, based on Articles 151 and 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, we will additionally demand the compensation of losses and expenditures spent on the services of a representative.”
Further, Irgashev Bakhtiyor Ilyasovich and BENFIT LTD LLC JV request the Fergana.Ru Information Agency Limited Liability Company to publish their text of refutation under the /en/ link within 10 days upon the receipt of this demand for refutation. We are doing so.
The following information mentioned in article titled «Family Ties: What Enriches Uzbekistan Secret Police Chief’s Family» published on 23.11.2013 shall be regarded as false, not corresponding to the truth and also defaming the business reputation of Mr. Irgashev Bakhtiyor Ilyasovich:
- Irgashev pays the new contractor a certain amount in advance and the latter starts working on the construction project. Irgashev pushes the contractor to work fast, but as soon as about 70-80 percent of the project is complete, he fires the contractor under some pretext, and involves his relative, Miraglam Mirzayev. Moreover, Irgashev makes the poor contractor return half of the money that was paid in advance. If the contractor refuses, Irgashev asks Mirzayev to start criminal proceedings and arrest the contractor. During the pretrial investigation stage, the poor contractor is asked to pay “damages” equal to the amount demanded by Irgashev.
- According to our informed sources, Inoyatov’s relatives repeatedly break or ignore laws. Below are a few examples that may help those who read this article avoid being defrauded by these state-sponsored swindlers.
- In 2011, acting as the client, Bakhtiyor Irgashev hired a contractor to work on a construction project in Tashkent’s Sergely district. When the project was about 70 percent complete, Irgashev, following the usual scheme, fired the contractor and demanded that the contracting company’s director, one Shomurod, return the money paid to the company in advance, with interest. The total was two million dollars, in cash!
- The contract was for a two-storey building. But when the project was more than half complete (the contractor only had to build the second storey and the roof), Irgashev found a quality-related pretext and swindled the contractor. In May 2013, he had all the workers of ILDARADO-SERVIS PLUS thrown out of the construction site, kept all the equipment and demanded that Khasanov return 650 million soums.
- To make everything look legal, he called a professional engineer and appraiser, B. Shabutayev of the Olmazor branch of Ipoteka-bank, and asked him to appraise the work done at the construction site. He then demanded that the appraiser report that the damages stood at 650 million soums, threatening that otherwise his relative, the powerful deputy prosecutor of Tashkent, Miraglam Mirzayev, would make sure that the appraiser got a 10-year prison sentence.
The terrified appraiser did what he was told and Irgashev moved on to the next stage of this “business plan” aimed at expropriating other people’s money. He hired another contractor, ANKUR Ltd, run by director K. N. Khamrayev, and signed a contract to complete the project at even more inflated prices. The percentage of work completed by ILDARADO-SERVIS PLUS was understated at 40 percent instead of 70 percent…
- Faizulla Mullajanov, the then chief of the Central Bank (who lapsed into a coma in July 2013), and Rustam Azimov, the then finance minister, now the first deputy prime minister, as well as many other government officials were aware of these swindles of the century.
The following information shall be regarded as false and not corresponding the truth:
- Irgashev is the board chair of BENIFF Ltd, a joint-venture construction company headquartered on Sadyk Azimov Street (next to the Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics) in Tashkent. He acts as both the client and sub-contractor in construction projects.
- Irgashev first finds wealthy clients who need something built (and the project should be worth no less than three billion Uzbek soums (about $1,000,000). Then, via his intermediaries, he promises the client that the project will be completed fast and for a lower price than anticipated. Irgashev himself does not sign anything, which is why all the contracts with clients are signed by the director of BENIFF Ltd, B. Payziyev.
- Once the contract is signed, Irgashev hires another contractor, a professional construction company, but promises it less money that his original client will pay BENIFF Ltd.
- Irgashev’s key rule is to never introduce the client to the true contractor.
- Then Irgashev, acting as a client, applies for a bank loan for an amount much higher than the true costs of the project. Our agency’s source tells us that Irgashev is not interested in amounts under three billion Uzbek soums, which is why loan amounts are very high. Due to his close familial ties with the NSS chief and deputy prosecutor of Tashkent, Irgashev finds the banks to be very agreeable. He also always stays under the radar, since he never signs anything: all the documents are signed by his loyal subject, director Payziyev.
Further, Mr Irgashev and Benif Ltd LLC JV demand “deleting the article entitled ‘Family Ties: What Enriches Uzbekistan Secret Police Chief’s Family’ under /en/articles/2870.”
The article in question has been removed from the website at this time.