Ukrainian-sanctioned figure Rustam Muminov controlled up to 85% of Uzbek cotton cellulose exports to Russia for gunpowder production

16 листопада 2025 р., 16:55

Микола Богданович   522   0  

Ukrainian-sanctioned figure Rustam Muminov controlled up to 85% of Uzbek cotton cellulose exports to Russia for gunpowder production

Businessman Rustam Muminov — a citizen of Uzbekistan, Russia, and the United Kingdom, and owner of the company Fargona Kime Zavod MChJ (Fergana Chemical Plant) — has been placed under EU sanctions. According to media reports, he controlled about 85% of cotton cellulose exports from Uzbekistan to Russia, which is used in the production of gunpowder and ammunition.

Supplies sharply increased after the start of the full-scale war:
• in 2021, volumes were minimal;
• in 2022 — cellulose worth $5 million was supplied;
• in the first nine months of 2023 — already worth $8.7 million, nearly 70 times more than in 2021.

Three Uzbek Companies Hit by Ukrainian Sanctions

• Mercury Renaissance, its subsidiary — Fergana Chemical Plant,
• Raw Materials Cellulose.

Mercury Renaissance and its «subsidiary» belong to Rustam Muminov and Shahriyor Tajiyev.
Raw Materials Cellulose — to Larisa Utkina and Larisa Bykova.

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Exports of Raw Materials Cellulose products to Russia ceased at the end of 2024. Muminov himself disappeared from the list of founders of Mercury Renaissance, and the company was re-registered on June 10, 2025, a month after the introduction of Ukrainian sanctions — an apparent attempt to circumvent restrictions.

New Channel to Bypass Sanctions — “Cotton Fiber” Instead of Cellulose

In the second half of 2024 and in 2025, Uzbek companies sharply increased sales of cotton fiber (HS code 5601219000) to Russia — a product very similar to cellulose but formally not under sanctions.

In 2024 alone, Uzbekistan sold this fiber to Russia for $9.8 million.
Although it is not yet ready cellulose, it can easily be converted into the necessary component for gunpowder factories — it only needs to be purified of wax, fat, lignin, and proteins.

One of the main exporters in 2024 was the company Gelion Business Trade.

Muminov’s Role

Despite his involvement in critically important supplies for the Russian military-industrial complex, most analysts consider Muminov not a «key overseer» but a minor representative of a larger business empire tied to Russia. His structures are merely a part of a broader system of sanctions evasion built on Uzbek-Russian economic ties.