EU Adds Uzbek Businessman Rustam Muminov to 19th Sanctions Package

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The European Union has added Uzbek entrepreneur Rustam Muminov to its 19th sanctions package. According to the EU’s published profile, Muminov holds citizenship in Uzbekistan, Russia, and the United Kingdom.

The EU states that Muminov is linked to supporting the Russian military-industrial complex. Brussels notes that he controls the Fergana Cotton Cellulose Plant (Farg‘ona Kimyo Zavodi), whose products allegedly were supplied to the Perm and Kazan gunpowder factories. These materials may have been used in the production of weapons for the Russian armed forces.

The Fergana Chemical Plant and Raw Materials Cellulose previously appeared in joint investigations by international media.

Journalists reported that these enterprises supply cotton cellulose to Russian gunpowder factories directly and through intermediaries, with supply volumes reportedly increasing significantly since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.