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A citizen of Uzbekistan wanted for his alleged role in a criminal group that repeatedly raided a heavily guarded gold-ore quarry belonging to the Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combine (NMMC) has been extradited from Russia to face criminal prosecution at home.
Javlonbek Ismatov was handed over to Uzbek authorities by the Moscow Oblast Prosecutor’s Office after the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation approved his extradition. He had been detained in March 2015 in the Odintsovo district of the Moscow region, where he had been hiding since the alleged crimes were committed.
Repeated Incursions Into a Restricted Site
According to Uzbek investigators, Ismatov and members of an organised group made multiple illegal entries into the Karakuton quarry — a specially protected facility within the NMMC complex — between 2012 and 2014. The group covertly removed gold-bearing ore with a total declared value of more than 2.8 billion Uzbek soums, equivalent to over one million US dollars at the Central Bank exchange rate.
The stolen ore was then processed by the group to extract raw gold, which was sold for cash. To conceal the proceeds, Ismatov allegedly purchased cars, land plots and apartments, registering a number of those assets in the names of third parties — a pattern investigators characterise as money laundering.
Separately, investigators allege that on 8 September 2014, Ismatov assaulted two people at the Bakht restaurant in the Pakhtachi district of Uzbekistan, causing them moderate bodily harm.
Charges and Extradition Process
The Moscow Oblast Prosecutor’s Office states that Ismatov faced charges under several articles of Uzbekistan’s Criminal Code: aggravated theft committed by an organised group (Article 169, parts 4(a) and 4(v)); illegal acquisition or sale of currency valuables (Article 177, parts 3(a) and 3(b)); legalisation of criminally obtained income (Article 243); and aggravated hooliganism (Article 277, parts 2(a) and 2(b)).
Following his 2015 detention, Russian prosecutors conducted a formal extradition review, forwarded the materials to the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation, and ultimately transferred Ismatov to Uzbek competent authorities. He now faces criminal prosecution in Uzbekistan.
The NMMC, a state-owned enterprise based in Navoi, is one of the largest gold producers in the world and a cornerstone of Uzbekistan’s mineral export revenues, making the security of its quarries a matter of significant national economic interest.