Image: Proposed Nur development Source: Namuna Development Website The legal opinion provided to impacted residents by the Deputy Minister of Justice is supported by further advice given by the Secretariat of Uzbekistan’s Human Rights Ombudsman. The Secretariat states: ‘It is known that according to Article 53 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, private property is inviolable and under state protection, like other forms of property. It is established that the owner can be deprived of his property only in the cases and according to the law. Since the decision of the hokim of Tashkent City No. 1544 of November 21, 2017 does not provide [a basis] for confiscation of the land, there are no legal grounds for negotiating compensation for the damage caused to the owners.’52 The Ombudsman adds: ‘Also, based on Article 11 of the Housing Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, privately owned houses and apartments may not be seized, and the owner may not be deprived of the property rights to the house or apartment, except for the cases specified by law.’ The next section examines the developer and proposed development. 52. The developer and development The 10.4 hectares of land identified in decree no. 1544 was assigned to the private company Steel Quality Business. Steel Quality Business is also known by the brand name Namuma Development. News reporting from the period stated that the company intends to initiate a major residential complex on the land featuring 30 buildings and 932 apartments, known as Nur residential complex.53 Steel Quality Business was incorporated in Uzbekistan on 1 January 2017. Its company record on the unified register of legal entities was first accessed by the authors on 26 June 2020.54 Its stated business is ‘services of hair salons and beauty salons’. Steel Quality Business’ statutory fund totalled US$5,700. The initial shareholders are Agzamov Sanjar Nigmatovich (50%) and Husanov Abdullatif Abdugapurovich (50%). The company’s head is listed as Yusupov Umidjan Nigmatovich. Subsequently, the shareholdings in Steel Quality Business changed. A company extract accessed on 12 April 2022 states that the shareholdings of Agzamov and Husanov had been reduced to 19.4%, respectively, with the majority shareholder now being a limited liability company, Technological Generation.55 The sole shareholder of Technological Generation at this time was Rolan Sakenov.56 Later in 2022, the shares held by Rolan Sakenov were transferred to Kim Irina Vladislavovna.57 Further information on Steel Quality Business’ shareholders is set out in Table 2. S. Azimov, Head of the Secretariat, Human Rights Ombudsman, letter to Niyozbek Yuli residents, 30 November 2022. 22 A False Sense of Legality