As The Insider found out, there is no official information about the case, but a source close to Olimov’s circle believes that he may have staged the kidnapping in France in order to portray his former employer and opponent in the economic dispute, Batyr Rakhimov, as the organizer of the crime. According to this version, Olimov first accused Rakhimov of the kidnapping, and then, with the help of Uzbek security forces, organized Rakhimov’s kidnapping himself in order to force him to drop his financial claims.
Rakhimov had previously accused Olimov of stealing business assets belonging to him and demanded compensation of more than $200 million. Against this backdrop, the story of Olimov’s kidnapping in central Paris and at a villa near Nice in France emerged in the summer of 2025.
In November 2025, The Insider and the French publication L’Express had already found contradictions and signs of a possible setup in Olimov’s version. After the alleged release, he was exchanging friendly messages with the person he called the kidnapper, warning him about the police and asking him to stay away.
Later, after going to the police, Olimov discussed transferring $200,000 with this person, and when the latter asked whether the police understood that what had happened was staged, he did not reply. A few days later, he wrote to him that there was “no enmity” between them and expressed relief that he had not been detained.
The joint investigation also established that the villa near Nice was rented through an intermediary using documents belonging to one of Olimov’s close associates, and that the first-class ticket back to Paris was paid for by the driver of a man named M. A medical examination conducted eight days after the alleged torture recorded only minor bruises and abrasions of unknown origin.
Against the backdrop of the Olimov story, another conflict was also unfolding in Uzbekistan: a combined-cycle power plant in the Surkhandarya region worth about $1.2 billion, which is being built by an international consortium involving QuWatt B. V., a company linked to Olimov. On July 27, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev criticized the project and said that connecting gas to the plant alone would require an additional $300 million, after which he dismissed Energy Minister Jurabek Mirzamahmudov.
Two days later, Mirzamahmudov was detained, and on July 30 a court remanded him in custody. The Uzbek service of Radio Liberty, Ozodlik, citing several sources in law enforcement agencies, reported that the former minister was suspected of abuse of office and embezzlement of funds.
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