A major state-run mining enterprise in Uzbekistan has justified awarding more than $200 million in procurement contracts to foreign entities, following revelations that the winning bidders included companies with opaque ownership structures, questionable financial records, and disputed signatures on official documents.
In a statement issued this week, the Almalyk Mining Metallurgical Complex asserted that all tenders were conducted through an automated government system, with contracts going to the lowest compliant bidders. The company stated it had performed an internal review and confirmed that deliveries were made on time and met quality standards.
The clarification came after a joint investigation highlighted that several foreign firms competing for the same tenders appeared to be under common control, with their true owners hidden behind nominal straw directors. One of the firms involved has since lodged a complaint with British authorities after discovering that electronic signatures attributed to its employees were used in procurement documents without their knowledge.
The companies in question, registered in the United Kingdom, collectively secured over $35 million in contracts despite filing paperwork with British regulators indicating they were dormant. They allegedly competed against each other for the same AMMC deals while being effectively managed by the same individual.
Similar patterns emerged in Georgia, where entities that won tens of millions of dollars in tenders were acquired for a nominal sum by a South Korean medical coordinator with Uzbek roots who lacked relevant mining experience. Those Georgian firms also reported no economic activity in their financial filings during the period they received the contracts.
Several individuals named in the report did not respond to inquiries or declined to comment. The mining giant maintains that all procurement procedures followed both internal protocols and national legal requirements, though the findings have prompted broader questions about transparency in Uzbekistan’s strategic industrial sector.