Interpol Hunts Uzbek Fugitive Ravshan “Zolotoy” Over Organised Crime Charges
The international policing organisation Interpol has officially placed Uzbek national Ravshan Mukhitdinov on its global wanted list. Details of his fugitive status have been published on the agency’s official portal.
Mukhitdinov, who is widely known in criminal circles by the alias Ravshan «Zolotoy» (Ravshan the Golden), is facing a string of serious allegations in his home country. Law enforcement agencies in Uzbekistan have accused him of malicious property damage, acts of hooliganism and orchestrating a major criminal syndicate.
A history of international arrests
This latest development is simply the newest chapter in a long-running saga between Mukhitdinov and global authorities. According to the news outlet Vaqt.uz, the Uzbek government first opened a high-profile criminal case against him in 2007 for creating and leading an organised crime group.
That initial case triggered an earlier Interpol notice which eventually caught up with him in September 2009. Authorities detained the fugitive as he attempted to travel through Istanbul airport. He spent three years languishing in a Turkish prison but was ultimately released when the Uzbek state failed to provide sufficient evidence to substantiate their charges.
Four years following his release in Turkey, international law enforcement apprehended him again. This time he was detained in the United Arab Emirates and held in a Dubai prison until December before being freed once more.
A brief return home
Mukhitdinov’s relationship with the Uzbek justice system took a bizarre turn in mid-July 2019 when he unexpectedly returned to his homeland. Shortly before his arrival, authorities had inexplicably wiped his name from the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ official wanted registry.
Despite this apparent legal clearance to re-enter society safely, the visit was incredibly short-lived. Just a few days after stepping foot back in the republic, Mukhitdinov fled the country again and remains at large today.
