Who is Akbar Abdullaev and why is he dangerous?

As covered in my previous post about who will replace Islam Karimov, the only viable candidate currently is a man called Akbar Abdullaev who is, for want of a better handle, a murderer, criminal and danger to the country.  

Akbar Abdullaev

Due to a variety of reasons, Akbar Abdullaev is now the most likely candidate to replace Islam Karimov as leader of Uzbekistan.  While this might not seem like a problem (because hey, who pays attention to middle eastern politics in the western world, right?), this is a man who has openly bragged about the murders he has ordered.

He has been affectionately labelled as the overlord of the money laundering industry.  There are reports starting to appear about the businesses he has "acquired" in Uzbekistan - where he now appears to operate numerous high profile ones in the Ferghana region.

By "acquired", I actually mean the original owners were forced into handing them over, murdered, or generally blackmailed into submission.  This is a dangerous man indeed.

So consider what a man of such loose moral grounding would do as leader of an entire country?  

A law firm named Huntsman Lewis LLP have already had to close their Tashkent office because Abdullaev was making undue threats to them.  Their press release stated:


"We are proud of the work we have done in Uzbekistan, in particular representing the plaintiffs in fraud charges brought against Akbar Abdullaev. However, in the wake of that case, we have received several serious threats to our persons, and those of our staff."


"As such, we have taken the decision to have no one physically on the ground as it is perceived to be too dangerous"


So while he is an unknown for many people, those who have encountered him would definitely have an opinion on the matter.  Whether they're willing to speak out for fear of being intimidated, beaten or murdered is an entirely different matter.  It's imperative that this man is not allowed to be in a position of greater authority.  But if a legal firm is unable to operate, how exactly will he be brought to justice?

Who will replace Islam Karimov as leader of Uzbekistan?

This is a pretty legitimate question at this point in time.  While Islam Karimov hasn't exactly been a good leader, nor a well received one internationally, the notion of who will replace him is a mildly terrifying one.  Given the colourful murderous/evil situation that's playing out in Syria, the wider political community really has to take notice of what's happening in Uzbekistan.

There isn't a "good" person in the picture to replace Karimov.  Actually, there's only one person in the picture and he is not what you would call a good citizen.  Murderer, criminal and national threat are more like it.

In fact, this piece of content entitled who will replace Islam Karimov as Uzbekistan's leader and why Akbar Abdullaev is now the only contender sums the situation it pretty perfectly.  Akbar Abdullaev is now the only viable candidate to replace Karimov due to both of the president's daughters bowing out (or being forced to), so without a son lined up, by virtue of family Abdullaev is in line.

He's the president's wife's sister's son and as tenuous a link to power as that may be, it makes him the leading candidate at the moment.

So why would that be bad?  What makes Abdullaev a dangerous man?
Akbar Abdullaev is a notorious playboy known for his hedonistic lifestyle as well as lavish spending, even by the standards of young oligarchs. However, he stands head and shoulders above the competition in terms of brutality.  There's a wonderful piece of content on the same website referenced above which cites: While Abdullaev avoided criminal charges over the killings of several businessmen in 2006, he shocked assorted high profile guests on his yacht by boasting about the killings at lavish parties he threw in Cannes this year.

While that may seem a little like conjecture, it is worth noting that this week Yahoo Finance reported that a law firm entitled Huntsman Lewis LLP pulled out of Uzbekistan, claiming that Akbar Abdullaev had made threats against them and their staff, as such it wasn't safe to continue operating in that region.  The law firm's website doesn't make specific mention of this, presumably they don't consider updating their website more important than the safety of their team, which is perfectly understandable.  Visit the Huntsman Lewis LLP website here (in case they release a statement on the website).

So, I urge you, don't ignore this issue.  If Akbar Abdullaev does replace Islam Karimov as leader of our fine nation, there are going to be problems.  No one knows the scale of these potential problems, but you only need to see what happened in Egypt and what is currently happening in Syria to gain a handle on what an unstable political climate can do.

Please, raise awareness.  Akbar Abdullaev is a dangerous man and should not be in a position of power.  I'm sure more people would speak out about him if they hadn't already been murdered and their businesses stolen.