By: Eli M. Gold, President

This paper investigates the sprawling transnational corruption network known as the Cartel of the Wretched.      

Led by Dmitry Romanovich Li, a former schoolteacher turned oligarch, whose influence has infiltrated Uzbekistan’s political, economic, and energy sectors. Described as a “puppet master,” Li heads a vertically integrated cartel that manipulates critical industries—finance, energy, mining, telecommunications, healthcare, and public procurement—under the cover of Uzbekistan’s sovereignty and President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s reformist agenda.

Alongside key operatives Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov and Minister of Economy and Finance Jamshid Kuchkarov, Li’s cartel controls over $14 billion in assets, generating an estimated $3 billion annually through illicit means.

At the heart of this network lies Octobank, a financial hub facilitating money laundering, sanctions evasion, and the diversion of state resources.

The cartel’s energy sabotage strategy caps renewable capacity at 20 GW— contradicting the president’s 50% renewable energy target by 2030—and prioritizes gas power plants aligned with Russia’s 2027 gas supply plans, deepening Uzbekistan’s energy dependency from Russia. Economically, this has led to a 23% drop in energy production since 2000 and a 54% decline in per capita energy supply, exacerbating living conditions and environmental hazards.

Geopolitically, the cartel’s ties to Kremlin-backed elites and its role in evading Western sanctions threaten regional stability and expose Western investors to significant risks. Evidence of violence, including assassination attempts and mysterious deaths, underscores the cartel’s ruthless enforcement mechanisms.

We urge immediate action from the Uzbek government and the international community to dismantle this shadow empire and safeguard Uzbekistan’s future.

To read the full paper click here

Eli M. Gold is the president of the Gold Institute for International Strategy, a Washington, DC- based think-and-do tank.