Sharoffiddin Gadoev is the nephew of Umarali Kuvvatov, the co-founder of Faroz and Shamsullo Sakhibov’s former business partner.
In a conversation with reporters, Gadoev confirmed that Anbat Association, the parent company of Anbat Service, had been established by Faroz to lobby its interests in trucking and logistics.
“This company [Anbat] belongs to Faroz,” he said.
Evidence from public records confirms Gadoev’s claim:
According to Tajikistan’s business registry, Anbat is owned by the Association of International Automobile Transports of the Republic of Tajikistan (AIATT) (which also lists it as one of its members.) The business registry does not contain any information about who owns AIATT itself, but the organization’s registration address is the same as that of Faroz’s headquarters.
Abdumumin Abdusamadov, listed in the registry as director of Anbat Service, took part in an investment council chaired by president Rahmon, representing Tochikvneshtrans, a Faroz-owned company, in January 2018.
Ikhtier Chalolov, who is listed as the last director of Anbat Service before its closure in 2017, is also the director of Tochinakliet, another subsidiary of Faroz engaged in transportation services. When OCCRP reporters contacted Tochikvneshtrans regarding their links with the AIATT Association, they responded that their firm was founded by AIATT, while in fact it is a Faroz subsidiary.
AIATT’s website, aiatt.tj, has the same registration contacts as the website of the Faroz-owned Tochikvneshtrans (tvt-terminal.tj).
A series of photos on Faroz’s Facebook page shows a football tournament played by various teams belonging to the company — including Anbat Service.
The English version of the web site of the Panj Free Economic Zone, where Anbat was registered and was, at one time, meant to build a transport terminal, notes that the company is owned by “JSC "Faroz 'Association«AIATT»(ANBAT)” (Curiously, this information is absent from the Russian version of the site.)
Gadoev explained that, while still head of Faroz, Kuvvatov had set up the Anbat Association under its auspices to protect the interests of Tajikistani transport companies against criminal groups in neighboring Kyrgyzstan who had been extorting money from transiting vehicles. Gadoev added that Anbat Service had been established under the Anbat Association with the goal of creating border stations for drivers that would include service stations, hotels, and other services. However, he said, Chinese investors interested in the project pulled out after Kuvvatov was ousted from Faroz.