I was saddened to hear of the spectacular downfall of Gulnara Karimova — whose father, Islam Karimov, has ruled Uzbekistan with an iron fist since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The attractive blond mother of two, whom I met in Paris in 2009, has been under house arrest since Uzbek police stormed her luxury apartment in Tashkent five weeks ago and arrested her boyfriend and two others on charges of fraud, embezzlement and money laundering.
Karimova, 41, was introduced to me as Lola by Massimo Gargia, author of “Jet Set: Memoir of an International Playboy,” who said she was “very, very, very rich” besides being a talented singer and fashion designer.
The charming Gargia was hosting his annual Best Awards in Paris, one of which went to Ivana Trump. Karimova presented an award, and a one-week trip to Uzbekistan, to actress Ornella Muti. I cracked to my table-mates that the losers were given two weeks.
Gargia was later photographed with the dictator’s daughter at parties in St. Tropez.
There was little mention of her father’s record of jailing and torturing political rivals or forced child labor. According to Human Rights Watch, up to 2 million Uzbek children leave school each year for two months to pick cotton.
Karimova tried to launch her Guli fashion line in 2011 with a New York Fashion Week show at Lincoln Center, but was forced by protests to relocate to Cipriani 42nd Street.
Two years ago, Karimova allegedly paid French movie icon Gérard Depardieu $500,000 to perform a duet with her. She sings; he talks sexily in French. You can see it on YouTube.
Once described in leaked US diplomatic cables as a “robber baron” and “the most hated person” in her homeland, Karimova claims in a letter smuggled to a BBC reporter: “I have been beaten. You can count the bruises on my arms.”
“How naïve I was to think that the rule of law exists in this country,” says the letter to the BBC’s Natalia Antelava.
It is believed that Karimova’s ailing father ordered the arrests, or that he is too weak to stop her father’s top security man, Rustam Innoyatov, whom she accused of trying to seize power.
“The reason for this Pinochet-style persecution is that I dared to speak up about things that millions are quiet about,” Karimova wrote.
Or it could be that she was over-ambitious. Swedish authorities are investigating whether the TeliaSonera telecom company paid Karimova a $300 million bribe in 2008 to enter the Uzbek market.