In a subsequent letter, the ADB provided further information on the due diligence conducted by IYB. They advised: Ipak Yuli Bank has adopted and implemented an environmental and social management system (ESMS). Under this ESMS, projects are screened for potential involuntary resettlements and the impacts thereof; in addition, further due diligence procedures are carried out. Ipak Yuli has informed ADB that during the due diligence of the construction project of Block A Phase-1, they have reviewed documents certifying the rights of the developer, i.e., Steel Quality Business (SQB), with respect to the territory comprising the land plot of Block A Phase-1. SQB provided IYB a cadastral register dated 28 March 2019, showing that the land was legally in their possession. In addition, IYB also took comfort in the fact that at the time of the due diligence, empty private houses were observed on the territory of Block A. Documents, which had been reviewed by Ipak Yuli, confirmed that agreements with respect to the transfer of property had been entered into between the parties and that cash proceeds were received by the former owners of these private houses. Based on the findings of this due diligence, namely that the owners of the houses had vacated the premises and transferred the title documents to the developer after having received cash proceeds from the same, Ipak Yuli concluded that mutual agreements had been reached between the owners of houses in Block A and the developer and that there were no outstanding compensation matters.90 It was also noted that: ‘At the time of the assessment and due diligence of the loan application, permits and licenses received by the borrower for the construction of the residential complex of Block A were reviewed by IYB, including the decision of the hokim to allocate a site for the construction of a residential complex, together with further architectural and design documents.’91 When asked about the corporate ties between Steel Quality Business and IYB shareholders, the ADB originally advised ‘IYB also confirmed that they have no affiliation with Steel Quality Business apart from being a client of the Bank’.92 In further correspondence, the ADB noted that the shared address between Steel Quality Business (SQB) and Alfa Insurance, according to IYB, was the result of a leasing arrangement: ‘At the time of the assessment of the loan, SQB, among other documents, provided a copy of the lease agreement, according to which the company accepts the premises for temporary use as an office. The address of the leased premises is indicated in Tashkent, Yashnabad district, S. Azimov and Tarrakiyet streets, the lessor is SO DHO “ALFA LIFE”.’93 Alfa Life, it should be noted, according to a company extract from 2020, was during this period 100% owned by Alfa Invest, while Alfa Invest in turn was a shareholder in IYB.94 IYB also advised the ADB that Abdulatif Husanov was not an executive at Alfa Invest when the loan was entered: ‘As for the position of Abdulatif Husanov, who is currently the Deputy General Director for IC ALFA INVEST JSC, in accordance with the information provided on the company’s website and the information received by IYB from IC ALFA INVEST JSC, at the time of examination of the client’s documents by IYB, Mr. Husanov was not part of the management team in the insurance company.’95 To summarise then, it appears from the information contained in this response from the ADB, that IYB had sight of decree no. 1544, but did not identify the potential illegalities referenced by the Deputy Justice Minister and Administrative Court of first instance, which summarises the applicable law at the time the decree was passed. IYB states that it accepted vacant houses, signed compensation agreements and transfers of title as evidence that the properties had been acquired by consent from previous owners. 94. 32 A False Sense of Legality Alfa Life, company extract, Unified Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs, Republic of Uzbekistan, accessed 26 June 2020.