The Super App Showdown: How a Tashkent Fintech Ended Up in Bankruptcy Court, International Arbitration, and on Interpol’s List

01The pitch: one app for everything

Imagine a single app that was your phone plan, your bank card, your money-transfer tool and your online marketplace. That was the pitch of Humans, a “super app” built around a Singapore-registered parent, Humans Mobile Ltd, and led by founder Vladimir Dobrynin.

It worked as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO). Humans owned no cell towers. It rented capacity from state-owned Uzbektelecom under a contract signed in May 2020. On top of that sat co-branded Visa cards, card-to-card transfers, and a marketplace.

The model was simple and fragile. Humans controlled the customer relationship, while the network, the card issuer and the payment processors belonged to someone else. By early 2025 the company reported 2.3 million users. It also reported a net loss of 192.7 billion soums for 2024.

02Three fights at once

Humans ran into three separate disputes, each with a different counterparty.

• The networkIn March 2024, Uzbektelecom demanded 532 billion soums (361.7 billion in principal and 170.3 billion in penalties). It warned that Humans’ internet speeds could be throttled and the service eventually cut off. Humans argued that wholesale prices stayed high while global prices fell, making its business unprofitable. Uzbektelecom says Humans simply breached its contract.
• The paymentsIn September 2024, the Central Bank restricted Maroqand, Humans’ payment arm (the UPay brand). Humans says this was done without proper procedure. In June 2025, Octobank, the issuer of its co-branded Visa cards, cut the service off and sued for more than 500 billion soums. On October 14, 2025, a Tashkent court declared Humans LLC bankrupt and assessed the debt at about 429 billion. Humans disputed the debt and filed a counterclaim. The company kept operating during liquidation.
• The stateIn May 2025, Humans Mobile Ltd went over the government’s head. It filed for treaty arbitration at the World Bank’s ICSID, invoking the 2003 Singapore-Uzbekistan investment treaty.

03The December shock

In early December 2025, users began reporting unauthorized debits from cards linked to the app, in two waves between December 4 and 8. On December 8, the Central Bank began receiving complaints. It ordered Paylov (operated by Octagram) to suspend P2P transfers. Humans later said it had received 825 complaints.

Then came the blame game. Humans said attackers sent automated requests straight to Paylov’s API using card tokens and keys that were Paylov’s responsibility. Octagram rejected that account. The Central Bank inspected Octagram, not Humans itself, and in January 2026 passed its findings to Tashkent police.

04The Red Notice

In April 2026, Dobrynin’s name appeared on Interpol’s public Red Notice list, requested by Uzbekistan. The charges listed are organizing illegal gambling and laundering proceeds of crime. They do not concern the December withdrawals.

An earlier case in October 2025 involved the arrest of a former Humans executive on gambling-related charges.

05The treaty claim

Back at ICSID, Humans Mobile alleges that Uzbek state bodies, including the Central Bank and Uzbektelecom, damaged its investment. It points to the Maroqand restrictions and what it calls abuse of a dominant position in wholesale internet. The claim was registered on May 30, 2025, and a tribunal was constituted in January 2026. The amount sought has not been made public, and no ruling has been reported.

A third matter complicates the picture. An Uzbek citizen, Maksim Sidanov, has sued claiming a 66% stake in Humans based on a $12 million investment.

06The Unobserved takeaway

Super apps grow fast because they own the customer. But in markets where the telecom network and payment rails sit with a few state-linked players, a pricing dispute, a bank dispute and a security incident can compound into one crisis.

Humans is a case study in dependency risk. The tribunal and the courts will decide who acted lawfully, and whether the gambling and money-laundering allegations hold. Until then, the most honest summary is that the story has many sides and no verdicts yet.