Minerva City case: Information was provided about the details of the investigation of governor and investor by the Prosecutor General’s Office 

Murari Lal Jalan, founder of MJ Developers company, the investor of Minerva City and Lake City projects in Tashkent, gave an interview to Kun.uz earlier and attributed the withdrawal of the area allocated for the implementation of the projects to the failure of the governor of Tashkent city to fulfill his request. The city administration reacted to this and said that his words are considered defamation of the civil servant and that he will be complained to the Prosecutor General’s Office. 

The investigation conducted by the PGO on the complaint filed against the Indian investor is ongoing. Kun.uz correspondent contacted MJ Developers company and talked about the inspection process. 

PR manager of MJ Developers company Beruniy Alimov answered the reporter’s questions. 

- On November 28, Kun.uz published an interview with the investor of Minerva City project. Tell me, did this interview, which caused a lot of noise, affect the activities of MJ Developers company and its leader Murari Lal Jalan in Uzbekistan, the projects that are being implemented? 

- The interview given by Murari Lal Jalan, the founder of MJ Developers, attracted the attention of not only Uzbekistan, but also foreign public representatives and business circles. 

A number of complex issues related to the company’s activities in Uzbekistan raised in the interview caused different attitudes of well-known economic experts and lawyers. And as it was noted in that interview, the projects in Bukhara and Namangan region continue without any obstacles. Only, as we all know, two projects in Tashkent - Minerva City and Lake City have been suspended. 

- The Tashkent city administration assessed the interview as “an attempt to discredit a civil servant”. A complaint was submitted to the Prosecutor General’s Office. How did the investigation process at the prosecutor’s office go? What did they check and what did they end up with? 

- In fact, after the interview, the Tashkent city administration appealed to the PGO. In such a situation, one thing came to the mind of many people: now pressure will be put on the investor. That is, looking for various flaws related to the company’s activities, in particular, investigations against the investor, various investigations will be started, some accusations will be made, there are worried thoughts that the company will be under pressure. Of course, such thoughts began to be observed not only among Kun.uz readers, but also among representatives of the general public, the company’s management and employees. 

However, we would like to emphasize that the PGO staff performed their work well and thoroughly. We saw that they had a diplomatic attitude towards a foreign citizen, a foreign investor. 

The PGO, having studied the case, sent a letter to the head of the government to investigate the dispute arising within the framework of the investment agreement. At the moment, our work is being studied by a special working group composed of responsible employees of relevant ministries and agencies under the instructions of the Prime Minister. 

- Will MJ Developers continue to build Minerva City and other projects, such as Lake City, or will the project be discontinued? At what stage is the process now?

- As I said above, the PGO sent a letter to the head of the government. Based on it, a special group is studying the situation. All our actions were within the framework of the applicable laws and investment agreement. Therefore, we hope that the conclusion will be in favor of MJ Developers company. 

In this case, the project will be implemented and both Minerva City and Lake City will be completed. 

- It was said that the money of the citizens who paid for the apartment buildings of Minerva City will be returned step by step. How is this process going now? Are people getting their money back or are they being given apartments? 

- This work is being continued according to the plan. In particular, a group of citizens who invested money to buy a house on social networks and asked to get their money back were given their money back in full, even ahead of time. You can also ask them. 

We wanted to start handing over houses to buyers in 2023. That is, the company has not passed the deadline for handing over the houses according to the law. However, some of the buyers preferred to get the money back instead of the house, and the money they invested has been gradually returned and the process is still ongoing. 

But due to the positive changes of the present day, there are people who want to own their house, not to get the money back. 

- You mentioned that the projects of MJ Developers company in Namangan and Bukhara are going well. What kind of projects are they? Why are the projects in Namangan and Bukhara “hitting the jackpot”, but not in Tashkent... 

- The work process has not stopped at our construction sites. On the contrary, the official opening of the Namangan Square project took place on December 28. More specifically, the construction of the first residences included in this project was completed, and the keys of the new houses were officially handed over to their owners by the governor of Namangan region and the heads of the sector. 

Also, our activity is accelerating in the territory of the 5-star Hyatt Regency hotel in Bukhara region. Construction work is almost completed. The final process of the interior decoration of the buildings is currently underway. One can get acquainted with our activities in both regions directly by visiting the place. 

Construction preparations and initial construction work have already been completed in both Minerva City and Lake City in Tashkent. However, due to some misunderstandings and technical reasons, our work in this area has been suspended. 

In my opinion, one of the main reasons for this is the lack of experience of specialists working with foreign investors in the government, unwillingness to accept news related to world standards in the construction sector, and most importantly, we think that former governor Jakhongir Artikhodjayev did not trust the investor. 

Now, after re-examining the master plans of the buildings to be built, we are working on their further improvement. 

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From the editorial office: Kun.uz contacted an employee of the relevant department of the prosecutor’s office to get information on the results of the investigation. He informed that the investigation was extended for 1 month due to the fact that the lawyer of the former governor Jakhongir Artikhodjayev filed an additional complaint, and the circumstances of the case are being further investigated. In addition, a letter was sent to the Prime Minister asking him to investigate the dispute over investment terms. 

On January 16, at the meeting held on the measures taken to provide the population with continuous energy resources, the President fired the Tashkent city governor Jakhongir Artikhodjayev, along with several officials who failed to fulfill their duties. In his place, the first deputy governor Bakhtiyor Rakhmonov was appointed acting governor of Tashkent city. 

It is known that Artikhodjayev filed a complaint to the PGO as the city governor. Is this application still valid? Is the new governor’s administration interested in the continuation of the study and the results of the investigation? To get answers to such questions, Kun.uz contacted Mukarram Azimova, press secretary of the Tashkent city administration. She said that the details of the investigation are not known to the administration. 

“After your request, I spoke with all departments. We do not have any information about the application submitted to the PGO and the results of the investigation, we have been informed that this information will not be provided to us. The official statement will be published on the pages of the Prosecutor General’s Office on social networks. It should be noted that even though the conversation with the investor was conducted by Jakhongir Artikhodjayev, this issue concerns the city administration. The fate of this application and the results of the investigation are also important for the current leadership of the administration. Because these are very big projects and large areas are allocated for these projects. A lot of money will be invested in big investment projects, which will also benefit the republican budget. 

The prosecutor’s office will announce the official news to the public,” Mukarram Azimova said.