Belarusian Creator Of The "Halva" Card Detained In Russia

Andrei Basuev flew to Moscow from Kyrgyzstan.

Belarusian Andrei Basuev, who previously launched the “Halva” payment card on the domestic market (through “MTBank”) and the Russian market (“Sovcombank”), has been detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, according to the publication “Belarusians and the Market”.

Basuev flew to Moscow from Kyrgyzstan. According to the Telegram channel Mash, Uzbek authorities issued an international arrest warrant for him amid a $100 million lawsuit filed by investors against the country.

As the “Belarusians and the Market” portal reported, after Andrei Basuev left “Sovcombank”—whose new owner, “MTBank” Alexey Oleksin—had sold the “Halva” concept—he headed the Solfy installment payment platform in Uzbekistan. He had been developing it since the early 2020s in partnership with the country’s largest bank—the state-owned “Uznatzbank.”

Now, however, Solfy RUS and investor Maksim Poletaev are demanding 8.3 billion Russian rubles (nearly $100 million at the exchange rate as of October 15, 2026) through international arbitration at the World Bank. The claim was filed on September 23: the investors cite the investment protection agreement between Russia and Uzbekistan.

According to Mash, the conflict began after the partnership between Solfy and “Uznacbank” escalated into mutual claims. In 2024 and 2025, courts in Tashkent ordered the company to pay the bank a total of 21.32 billion sum (1.79 million dollars at the exchange rate as of October 15, 2026) in debt and penalties.

In March 2026, law enforcement officials detained the director of Solfy’s local branch Uktam Khasanov in connection with a criminal case.

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