Rustam Rakhimdzhanovich Muminov, an Uzbek businessman who holds Russian and British citizenship, was previously sanctioned by the EU, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine for supplying cotton pulp to Russia's military facilities. However, this hasn't stopped his companies from continuing to produce materials critical for Russia's military industry.

According to a draft EU sanctions document seen by RFE/RL, Fargona Kimyo Zavodi LLC and Raw Materials Cellulose LLC, controlled by Muminov, supply cotton pulp to Russian gunpowder plants in Kazan, Perm, and Tambov.

The EU draft states both companies "support Russia's military and industrial complex by being involved in the supply of military technology and equipment," which is why they're included on the EU's upcoming blacklist.

The sanctions also extend to two Russian buyers of Uzbek cotton products, Dmitry Malyuta and Denis Shishkin. The EU draft describes them as owners of shares in LLC Bina Invest, through which they control companies importing cotton pulp from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan for Russian gunpowder factories. Both also own shares in LLC Aleksinskiye Kraski-Ural, which delivers goods to Russian gunpowder factories.

The materials are used in a wide range of military products, including ammunition.

Investigative reporting by Vazhnyye Istorii, Vlast.Kz, and OCCRP shows that Muminov's network controlled roughly 85 percent of Uzbekistan's cotton cellulose exports to Russia, which surged after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Exports totaled around $5 million in 2022 and $8.7 million in the first nine months of 2023 -- nearly 70 times higher than in 2021.

Trade and customs data show that in 2024–2025 some Uzbek suppliers shifted to exporting cotton fiber under HS code 5601219000 instead of cotton cellulose. Exports under this classification were valued at about $9.8 million in 2024, according to figures cited by RFE/RL's Uzbek Service. Experts say this may have allowed deliveries to Russian military facilities to continue while partially circumventing EU restrictions.

According to Ukrainian authorities, Muminov's companies were restructured following the May 2025 sanctions: Mercury Renaissance and Fargona Kimyo Zavodi LLC were re-registered, and Raw Materials Cellulose LLC ceased exports to Russia at the end of 2024. Nevertheless, Muminov remains closely connected to Russian military procurement, according to the Council for Economic Security of Ukraine (ESCU).

Several companies controlled by Muminov - Fargona Kimyo Zavodi LLC (Fergana Chemical Plant), Raw Materials Cellulose LLC, and Mercury Renaissance were placed under Ukrainian sanctions in May 2025, along with Muminov himself, under a decree signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that remains in force for 10 years.

The United Kingdom added Muminov and these Uzbek-linked firms to its Russia sanctions list on December 18, 2025, imposing asset freezes and financial restrictions as part of a broader sanctions update.

Muminov's dominance in Uzbekistan's cotton pulp exports highlights his close ties with the state institutions regulating this strategically important sector. Cotton and cotton-derived products, including cellulose and pulp with dual-use potential, have traditionally been tightly controlled by the Uzbek government, with oversight from security agencies as a major source of national revenue.

So far, Uzbek authorities have not publicly responded to the sanctions targeting Muminov and his companies, leaving questions about domestic oversight of cotton pulp exports to Russia.

The EU's 20th sanctions package is expected to be formally adopted by the end of February.