French authorities are investigating the abduction of Uzbek banker Kaxramonjon Olimov, who spent nearly two days in captivity.
According to Le Monde, one suspect has already been arrested on charges of “organized group kidnapping”.
The 48-year-old billionaire and majority shareholder (99.38%) of Anorbank, Kaxramonjon Olimov, was abducted on June 23 in the center of Paris. As reported by Le Monde, he was seized in the 8th arrondissement of the French capital and secretly taken to the basement of a private villa near Nice.
Le Monde writes that the kidnappers beat Olimov, threatened him with death, and even staged a mock throat-slitting. He was released only after a ransom was paid — the kidnappers demanded $10 million, but according to Le Monde, only $200,000 was paid in advance to a middleman in Tashkent. At the Hôtel-Dieu hospital in Paris, doctors recorded numerous bruises and injuries. Olimov also complained of insomnia, panic awakenings, and heightened anxiety.
“It was unpleasant, but thankfully it’s over,” his personal secretary told Le Monde.
A suspicious encounter: “Anastacia” at the hotel bar
According to Le Monde, on the eve of the abduction, a woman approached Olimov at the bar of Sofitel Arc-de-Triomphe hotel. She introduced herself as Anastacia, claimed to work in a beauty salon in Turkey, and spoke Russian and English. However, the banker was suspicious: her white Louis Vuitton jacket and Tiffany bracelet didn’t match her alleged profession.
Two days after flying from Tashkent (with a stopover in Istanbul), Olimov disappeared. He was freed nearly 48 hours later after the ransom was paid.
Financial background and international projects
Olimov controls Anorbank — a digital bank founded in 2020 with assets exceeding $1 billion. According to him, it is among the top banks in Uzbekistan. He is also involved, via a Netherlands-registered company, in a project to build a gas-fired combined-cycle power plant in Surkhandarya province, in partnership with French energy giant EDF.
Olimov came to Paris for business talks with EDF and to finalize a real estate purchase. Nine nights were booked at the hotel, but the trip ended in abduction.
One suspect has already been arrested in France on charges of “organized group kidnapping”, according to Le Monde.