Officers from the Main Investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs detained the businessman this morning in Bishkek and brought him to Osh. He is currently being held in a pretrial detention center in the southern capital, pending a decision on pretrial detention.

According to preliminary reports, the detention occurred as part of an investigation into multiple criminal cases involving defrauded equity holders and the siphoning off of loan funds.

Zamirbek Orozbaev’s tenure at the company included the conclusion of most of the equity participation agreements, the pledging of unfinished residential complexes to commercial banks, and the receipt of an $8.1 million loan from the Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund (RKDF). According to audit documents and statements from equity holders, the funds were directed to Halmion Prom plant in Batken region, while residential construction in Osh was completely frozen.

The arrest took place exactly two weeks after a roundtable discussion at Osh City Hall on July 10, where 1,680 families of defrauded equity holders declared the impunity of the company’s former management and threatened with peaceful protests.

The mayor of Osh Zhanar Akayev promised residents:

«If the issue is not resolved according to the law, I will personally join you in the picket.»

Residents previously reported to 24.kg news agency that on June 10, at a meeting at the Osh City Police Department, police officers publicly stated that if Orozbaev did not begin construction work by June 15, he would be detained. The work never began, and no arrest followed. Residents then viewed this as another unfulfilled promise.

Earlier, in comments to 24.kg news agency, Orozbaev’s representative, Ulukbek Suerkulov, claimed that his client was a «victim» in the company’s alienation case, was operating within the framework of a «legitimate business model,» and had avoided giving direct answers to journalists.

There was no official confirmation from the Ministry of Internal Affairs at the time of publication. The editorial staff sent a request to the ministry’s press service.