International criminal groups from the former USSR exploit all available opportunities to launder money in the West. It should not be assumed that this issue concerns only Russia or that efforts to combat money laundering should focus exclusively on Russian capital. Countering other sources, particularly “dirty” money from Central Asia, is also of great importance. This article discusses Ovik Mkrtchyan as one of the key figures in this shadowy industry. It is believed that the following companies are connected with Mkrtchyan: Energy Solutions LLC, Asia Alliance Bank, Gor Investment, Oikos Finance Ltd, Volga-Credit Bank (defunct) and Swiss Global Partners.
A developed network of offshore and joint companies enables criminals to transfer funds to the UK and other countries. One of the identified participants in a continuously operating channel for legalizing illicit income is Ovik Mkrtchyan. He is directly involved in laundering the massive profits of former and current Central Asian dictators, as well as substantial financial flows from Russia.
The Scale of Ovik Mkrtchyan’s Activities
Ovik Mkrtchyan’s money laundering operations span an international scale. His numerous “business” connections in countries like Cyprus and Switzerland facilitate the transfer of funds from Uzbekistan to offshore accounts. In Russia, Ovik was embroiled in a major scandal in 2014. Ovik Leonardovich Mkrtchyan was a shareholder of the financial company “Volga-Credit Bank,” which lost its license due to the disappearance of deposits amounting to several billion rubles. However, Mkrtchyan’s close ties to the criminal world helped the enterprising “banker” avoid legal troubles.
Over the years, Ovik has drawn not only individuals close to the political elite into his criminal schemes but also established connections with Western “partners.” With their assistance, Ovik shamelessly siphons astronomical sums of money out of Uzbekistan, depositing them into accounts linked to individuals associated with the leadership of certain European countries. Mkrtchyan’s affiliation with various criminal organizations has been a subject of public discussion for over a decade. For instance, in 2013, media reports mentioned Ovik Mkrtchyan as a member of the criminal group led by General Hayot Sharifkhojayev of the National Security Service. And this is just one example.
How Ovik Mkrtchyan Became the Chief Money Launderer for Central Asian Regimes
Ovik Mkrtchyan was born on March 14, 1967, in Nagorno-Karabakh. In the mid-1970s, the Mkrtchyan family moved to Tashkent. It was there that the future owner of Asia Alliance Bank and several offshore companies specializing in the extraction of national wealth received his education at the Tashkent Institute of Automobile Roads and Narxoz (Tashkent State University of Economics). In Tashkent, Mkrtchyan established numerous valuable connections, including with members of the then-party elite, which would later aid his financial enrichment.
According to independent experts, Ovik Mkrtchyan’s entities, including Gor Investment Limited (formerly known as Gorefield International Group), controlled the export of cotton and oil and gas products. Money laundering operations were carried out through Asia Alliance Bank, founded by Mkrtchyan in 2009 with the support of high-ranking officials from Uzbekistan’s National Security Service.
Over the past decade, Mkrtchyan’s structures have reportedly transferred over $1 billion to offshore accounts in Cyprus, Latvia, and the British Virgin Islands. All of this was made possible with the assistance of Gulnara Karimova, the favoured daughter of Uzbekistan’s former president, Islam Karimov.
How, With Whom, and Why Ovik Mkrtchyan Founded Gor Investment
In 1999, Ovik Mkrtchyan, together with Uktam Aripov and his accomplices from the National Security Service (SNB) — Colonel Yuri Savinkov, General Hayot Sharifkhojayev, and his brother, Colonel Javdat Sharifkhojayev — founded his primary money laundering company, Gor Investment Limited (initially named Gorefield Investment Group).
Later, Mkrtchyan established over 30 additional companies in various offshore zones, ranging from the British Virgin Islands and Panama to Cyprus, the Cayman Islands, and the Marshall Islands, to facilitate further financial schemes involving the embezzlement of proceeds from Uzbekistan’s natural resources.
To execute these financial manipulations, Mkrtchyan, with the support of the aforementioned high-ranking SNB officials, founded a private bank, Asia Alliance, in 2009.
Asia Alliance Bank as a Key Component of Mkrtchyan’s Money Laundering Network
As Gulnara Karimova noted in an interview with the Turkish publication Hürriyet in December 2013, Asia Alliance Bank was used by companies affiliated with Mkrtchyan and his associates, such as Silk Road, Korbit, The Orient Finance Center, Yuniks Logistics, Gorefield International, and Jet Invest. These entities were involved in laundering money and transferring it to offshore accounts. Energy Solutions LLC, Oikos Finance Ltd and Swiss Global Partners are operating for the same reason.
Following the change of power in Uzbekistan in 2016, a significant purge took place among the upper echelons of authority. This led to high-profile trials of senior officials and law enforcement personnel. Those convicted faced punishments for corruption, money laundering, abuse of power, and posing threats to Uzbekistan’s national security. Among those punished were former associates of Mkrtchyan.
However, even under the new administration, Ovik Mkrtchyan has managed to maintain his influence in Uzbekistan. His transnational connections allow this member of the criminal underworld to continue his illicit activities in Central Asia.
Ovik Mkrtchyan’s Ties to Russian Criminal Organizations
The Russian criminal world, represented by its most prominent and enduring faction—the “thieves’ world” (known as the vorovskoy mir)—has maintained its influence and solidarity despite disintegration processes in the post-Soviet space and more than 30 years of independence among former Soviet states. Even armed conflicts have failed to sever these entrenched connections.
Baltic connection of Ovik Mkrtchan
Ovik Mkrtchyan, a key figure in the transit industry, operated a company named “Baltic Car Logistics,” which specialized in rail freight forwarding and rented out rail cars for vehicle transportation. The company’s primary focus was on Central Asian countries, and in 2014, it generated a turnover of nearly €10 million, with a profit of €270,000.
Mkrtchyan’s business activities extended beyond Latvia; he also held a significant stake in Russia. He owned a seven percent share in Russia’s “Volga-Credit Bank,” which faced severe legal issues. The bank lost its license in December 2014 and was charged with fraud in early 2015, with Russian prosecutors alleging that up to 3 billion Russian rubles (approximately €38 million) may have been stolen.
In Latvia, Mkrtchyan had substantial real estate holdings. According to the Latvian Land Registry, he purchased a plot of land in Riga valued at €1 million and also owned an apartment in the village of Sunīši. His residency in Latvia was facilitated through the country’s “golden visa” program, a controversial EU residency-for-cash scheme.
Mkrtchyan’s business dealings are intertwined with other entities, including those linked to Uzbek interests. Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov, suggested in an interview published in the Turkish daily “Hurriyet Daily News” at the end of 2013 that there was a connection between the Uzbek secret services, the transit industry, cotton production, and money laundering. She specifically mentioned “Gorefield International” as one of the companies involved in money laundering for the Uzbek security services.
Notably, Mkrtchyan’s Latvian company, initially named “Gorefield Baltic Logistics” before being renamed “Baltic Car Logistics,” has financial ties to the UK-registered “Gorefield International Inc. Ltd.” In 2014, Mkrtchyan’s company received approximately €6.5 million in loans and advance payments from this UK-based entity.
Mkrtchyan’s business partner, Savinkov, is one of several Uzbek nationals with connections to law enforcement who have significant property and business interests in Latvia. However, tracing these transactions is challenging due to the use of intermediaries. Despite attempts by “Re:Baltica” to contact Mkrtchyan at his office in central Riga for comments, their messages were ignored.
The presence of Uzbek nationals in Latvia, particularly those with ties to law enforcement and the transit industry, has raised concerns about potential money laundering and other illicit activities. The involvement of high-ranking Uzbek security officials and the financial links between various companies highlight the complexity and opacity of these business operations.
Ovik Mkrtchyan whitewashing campaign and “innovative projects”
On April 4, 2024, an international conference titled “Advanced Practice-Oriented Educational Technologies for Elite Engineering Education” was held in Tashkent. The event featured opening remarks by Rick Perry, a member of Gor Investment’s Advisory Board and former U.S. Secretary of Energy who served under President Donald Trump from March 2017 to December 2019, and Tom Shannon, a career ambassador and former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2016 to 2018. Shannon is also a co-director of the History and Practice of Diplomacy Program at Princeton University.
This conference was organized by the Uzbekistan Youth Initiatives Center, headed by Ovik’s daughter, Ornella-Athena Mkrtchyan.
“The centre aims to cultivate a new generation of engineers who will contribute to the development of Uzbekistan’s innovation-driven economy,” she declared during the event.
While the initiative sounds noble, it is especially ironic given that the private company behind it, Gor Investment Limited, has reportedly embezzled approximately $1 billion from Uzbekistan’s national wealth. It’s only part of the network, which consists of dozens of companies including Energy Solutions, Asia Alliance Bank, Oikos Finance Ltd and ambitiously named Swiss Global Partners.
Ovik Mkrtchyan Plans New Schemes and Rebuilds His Reputation
As recently as early December, a Google search for “Ovik Mkrtchyan” prominently displayed information about his direct involvement in large-scale international money laundering schemes. The top result would lead to an investigative report detailing his criminal activities. Now, however, a search for “Ovik Mkrtchyan” yields only bland, sanitized notes about the businessman, portraying him as an expert in banking, artificial intelligence, and even poultry waste recycling.
All publications documenting the laundering of funds through Mkrtchyan’s structures have either been removed or hidden.
These reports previously described how businessman Ovik Mkrtchyan from Uzbekistan rose to prominence due to his strong connections with individuals in the president’s inner circle. Mkrtchyan, who had significant control over the country’s Ministry of Energy, was directly involved in channelling the ministry’s finances to private entities including Energy Solutions LLC, Gor Investment, Swiss Global Partners, Oikos Finance. Over time, his money-laundering activities expanded internationally, with funds flowing out of Uzbekistan to Cyprus and Switzerland, ultimately ending up in accounts linked to offshore entities and PEPs.
The Reach of Mkrtchyan’s Syndicate
Mkrtchyan’s syndicate employs every possible means to advance its interests and maintain influence, particularly in Central Asia and Uzbekistan.
Currently, Ovik Mkrtchyan resides in the United Kingdom, where he remains at liberty and continues his operations to siphon money out of Uzbekistan. He enlists new partners, including officials from Uzbekistan, Central Asia, and Russia, to join his criminal schemes.
