Repeat offender jailed after scamming 161 people in fake housing project

Farrukh Makhamatov, head of “Arkenstone” and “Vesco Cottage” LLCs in Tashkent, was found to have collected nearly 19.9 billion UZS from 161 individuals under the false promise of constructing homes. He then converted the funds into U.S. dollars and transferred approximately $1.4 million to bank accounts opened in his and his mother’s names at a currency exchange registered in London.

A mother and son duo who defrauded numerous people in Tashkent have been criminally prosecuted. Kun.uz obtained the court ruling.

According to court documents, Farrukh Makhamatov, born in 1992 and a known repeat offender, established Arkenstone LLC on April 4, 2022, and Vesco Cottage LLC on May 15, 2023. He deceived citizens with false promises of building homes under affordable and long-term payment plans.

He posted online advertisements claiming to sell cottages in the Olmazor, Yunusabad, and Yashnabad districts. Prospective buyers were offered cottages for an initial payment of 125 million UZS and installment plans spanning 20 years. However, the companies did not own any land plots for construction.

Through these fraudulent schemes, Makhamatov collected 8.67 billion UZS through Arkenstone and 11.26 billion UZS through Vesco Cottage from 161 people. He then formed a criminal group with his mother, Feruza Makhamatova (born in 1973), to freely manage and launder the funds.

Makhamatov converted the stolen funds into U.S. dollars and transferred them to e-wallets registered under his and his mother’s names on a London-based currency exchange.

On March 12, 2025, the Yunusabad District Criminal Court found Farrukh Makhamatov guilty under Article 168, Part 4 (a, v) (fraud) and Article 243 (money laundering) of the Criminal Code. He was sentenced to 12 years and 1 month of imprisonment in a high-security penal colony.

Feruza Makhamatova was also sentenced to 5 years and 1 month under Articles 168 (4)(a,v), 28, and 243, taking into account Article 57 of the Criminal Code.

The court ordered the seizure of funds held in Vesco Cottage's bank account (634.2 million UZS), Feruza Makhamatova’s personal card (187.9 million UZS), and a VISA card (5.24 billion UZS), as well as $192,000 worth of crypto-assets (equivalent to 2.48 billion UZS) from an associated crypto wallet. These assets are to be used to compensate victims for their financial losses. The remaining damages are to be jointly recovered from the defendants.

The Tashkent City Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the original ruling on May 1, 2025.

It was noted that Farrukh Makhamatov had a long history of fraud and multiple prior convictions. He had been sentenced to:

5 years by Olmazor District Court on April 23, 2020;
7 years and 6 months by Qarshi City Court on July 1, 2020;
7 years and 8 months by Yunusabad District Court on November 26, 2020.

A March 14, 2022 decision by the Almalyk City Court replaced his remaining 5 years and 1 month prison term with corrective labor, requiring 20% of his income to be deducted in favor of the state.

In January 2024, the Department under the Prosecutor General’s Office reported that the responsible executives of Arkenstone and Vesco Cottage were detained. At the time, a deputy head of the department stated that $625,000 in crypto-assets—$222,000 from Makhamatov’s accounts and $403,000 from his mother’s e-wallet—had been returned to Uzbekistan.

#crime #fraud #housing