Divorce Case Opens Windows on Karimov Family Wealth

A divorce settlement by a New Jersey family court judge opens a window on the wealth of Uzbek President Islam Karimov's family members. The ruling shows that the president's daughter, Gulnara Karimova-Maqsudi, possesses business interests and real estate in Russia, the United States and Uzbekistan worth tens of millions of dollars.

Judge Deanne Wilson of the Superior Court of New Jersey ruled that Mansur Maqsudi, of Mendham, New Jersey, deserved sole custody of the couple's two children, 10-year-old Islam and 6-year-old Iman. His ex-wife, Karimova-Maqsudi, took the boy and girl to Tashkent in 2001, when he sought to dissolve the marriage. She has sought international immunity in the custody battle, on the grounds that Uzbekistan is not party to international agreements on civil matters, referred to in legal circles as the Hague conventions.

Judge Wilson's ruling January 31 appears to reject Karimova-Maqsudi's arguments. In addition to granting Maqsudi sole custody, the judge called on Karimova-Maqsudi to "cause the children to be transported to the United States or to another country which is a signatory to the Hague convention." The judge also requires both parents to heed the advice of doctors and other experts during the implementation of the custody transfer. This decision ends with an order that the president's daughter pay $300,000 to Maqsudi for legal expenses.

Documents specifying the division of assets provide a glimpse of the opulent lifestyle enjoyed by members of Karimov's family and close associates. The main financial burden of the settlement falls on the president's daughter. It awards Maqsudi the house the couple shared in Mendham, New Jersey. He also is to take possession of two luxury cars, a $7,000 piano, over $440,000 in bank and brokerage accounts, a stake in a business called the ROZ Group – valued at close to $6 million – and $3.3 million in cash. Meanwhile, Karimova-Maqsudi keeps $4.5 million worth of jewelry, at least $11 million in bank and investment holdings in Geneva and Dubai and a house in Tashkent.

She also retains control of a variety of business and real estate interests, including a $10 million retail complex and the $13 million "Chimgan resort complex." She also keeps a $4 million Moscow penthouse and Tashkent nightclubs worth $4 million as well as 20 percent of the Uzdunrobita wireless phone company (worth $15 million) and a TV station, recording studio and spa worth $5.5 million. The wireless phone company is a joint venture founded by the state (as a minority shareholder) and an American cellular concern.

The assets, according to a source familiar with the case, were largely valued in accordance with an independent appraisal. It is not clear how Karimova-Maqsudi, who reportedly worked in the state bureaucracy, obtained such extensive business and property holdings.

Karimova-Maqsudi appears intent on appealing for immunity from the award. No court has accepted the claim of "sovereign immunity" so far, since the concept does not always apply neatly to custody cases. If the New Jersey Supreme Court were to accept the case, says a legal expert who asked for anonymity, it would probably resolve the issue within 12 months.

It is not clear where the children are at present. It is also uncertain how Maqsudi can compel compliance with the New Jersey court custody order.