Uzbekistan Issues Interpol Wanted Notice for Humans Founder Vladimir Dobrynin
Uzbekistan has placed Vladimir Dobrynin, the founder and chief executive of the technology company Humans, on the international wanted list. An official notice regarding the search for the businessman has been published on the Interpol website.
Domestic authorities are seeking Dobrynin on serious criminal charges encompassing the organisation of illegal gambling activities and money laundering.
Escalating corporate clashes
These criminal allegations mark the latest development in an increasingly bitter conflict between the tech executive’s business empire and the Uzbek state. The situation began to deteriorate significantly in June 2025 when Singapore-based Humans Mobile Ltd launched a lawsuit against Uzbekistan.
The holding company claimed that actions taken by state agencies and local enterprises had caused substantial financial damage to its operations.
Simultaneously an international arbitration process was initiated against Humans. Prior to this legal escalation the Central Bank of Uzbekistan had severely restricted the local Humans subsidiary by suspending its operations for six months. Financial regulators justified the freeze by citing irregular payment processing directly linked to gambling services.
A spokesperson for the Central Bank commented at the time that an international arbitration centre had accepted the plaintiff’s application and was actively preparing to review the dispute.
Mounting debts and executive arrests
Beyond its conflict with state regulators the company has faced severe pressure from domestic financial partners. Octobank filed a lawsuit against Dobrynin’s firm over a breach of contract. A court subsequently ruled in favour of the bank and ordered Humans to repay a debt amounting to half a billion soum.
The net has also been tightening around the company’s broader leadership team. In the autumn of 2025 Uzbek law enforcement officers detained Bekhzod Botirov, a former senior manager at Humans. Like Dobrynin he was taken into custody on charges of orchestrating illicit gambling operations within the republic.
