The trial of former Uzbekneftegaz chairman Bahodir Siddiqov deepens scrutiny of state energy contracting as Bakhtiyor Fazylov’s once-dominant business empire continues to unravel.

WHAT: Siddiqov and eight others, including representatives of Enter Engineering and Eriell Management, face charges including large-scale embezzlement, abuse of office and official forgery.

WHY: The case follows a wider government crackdown on alleged corruption and weak procurement controls at Uzbekneftegaz, while companies linked to Fazylov face unpaid wages, asset sales and the loss of key energy interests.

WHAT NEXT: Proceedings may reveal which contracts and sums are under investigation and whether scrutiny extends further into Fazylov-linked companies, although Fazylov himself is not named as a defendant.

 

The former chairman Bahodir Siddiqov and eight other defendants, including representatives of contractors Enter Engineering and Eriell Management, have gone on trial in Tashkent over alleged embezzlement and other financial crimes.

The case has been submitted to the Yashnabad District Criminal Court, Uzbekistan’s Supreme Court said on July 22. Five of the nine defendants have been remanded in custody, while the remaining four have been released on bail. The preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 24.

The defendants collectively face charges under provisions of Uzbekistan’s criminal code covering large-scale embezzlement or misappropriation, abuse of official authority, official forgery and the laundering of criminal proceeds.

Siddiqov is accused of embezzlement on an especially large scale or in the interests of an organised group, abuse of office resulting in especially large losses and official forgery. The allegations have not been proven, and no details have been disclosed on the sums involved or the contracts under investigation.

Other defendants include Enter Engineering representative Ulugbek Usmonov, Eriell Management representative Nodirjon Boboev and former Uzbekneftegaz deputy chairman Bakhtiyor Anarkulov.

Uzbekneftegaz procurement department head Dilmurod Burkhanov and Dilshod Khakberdiev, head of the company’s Maxsusenergogaz subsidiary, are also standing trial, along with Alisher Ochilov, Khamidulla Asatov and Masudjon Khoshimov.

Siddiqov led Uzbekistan’s state-owned gas producer from March 2023 until December 2025, when he was replaced by former Uzbekhydroenergo chairman Abdugani Sanginov.

The trial follows a wider government investigation into Uzbekneftegaz and Uzbekistan’s State Assets Management Agency. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said in January that audits had uncovered the alleged theft of billions of Uzbekistani som at the two organisations. The authorities subsequently ordered a forensic audit at Uzbekneftegaz and tightened controls over procurement, costs and financial assets.

The investigation comes as Uzbekistan struggles to arrest a prolonged decline in domestic gas production. National output fell by 14% year on year to 15.8bn cubic metres (bcm) in January-May, from 18.4 bcm a year earlier.

 

Rise and fall of Fazylov’s energy empire

The inclusion of Enter Engineering and Eriell executives in the case comes as the sprawling business empire associated with Uzbek entrepreneur Bakhtiyor Fazylov undergoes a sharp reversal of fortune.

Fazylov founded oilfield services group Eriell in 1999 and later became a major shareholder in Enter Engineering, established in 2012. The two companies expanded rapidly after President Mirziyoyev came to power in 2016, emerging as leading drilling and engineering contractors for the government’s programme to raise oil and gas production. Companies linked to Fazylov gained access to hundreds of fields and secured construction and drilling contracts worth billions of dollars, sometimes without publicly disclosed competitive tenders, according to investigative reports.

The group subsequently expanded beyond contracting into upstream production through Sanoat Energetika Guruhi, or Saneg. The energy ministry described Fazylov as Saneg’s founder in 2024, when the company accounted for around 80% of Uzbekistan’s oil output and 5% of its gas production. His wider interests came to include the country’s largest underground gas-storage facility, the Fergana refinery, Samarkand international airport, the Silk Road Samarkand tourism complex and other industrial and infrastructure assets.

The empire began visibly unravelling amid project delays, operational problems and mounting complaints over unpaid salaries. By January this year, Enter Engineering, Eriell and Saneg reportedly owed $131mn in wages to 38,700 employees, prompting the government to establish a programme to sell assets and bring new investors into unfinished strategic projects. The assets earmarked for disposal included company offices, hotels, Samarkand airport, an oil-storage terminal and interests linked to the Fergana refinery and Gazli gas-storage facility.

Saneg subsequently disappeared from the ownership register of the Fergana refinery, returning the plant to full state control, while local media reported that Fazylov had been removed from the role of principal contractor on state energy projects. The prosecution of senior Uzbekneftegaz officials alongside representatives of Enter Engineering and Eriell now adds a criminal investigation to the financial and operational pressures surrounding the group. Fazylov himself is not named as a defendant in the published court schedule, and the available case information does not establish that the charges relate to all – or any particular one – of the contracts awarded to his companies.