Central Bank chief dismisses rumors of Uzbekistan buying gold from Russia

“We have never bought gold from any other country, nor do we intend to. We have sufficient gold of our own,” the head of the regulator said.

Ishmetov made the statement during a press conference at the Central Bank on 24 October, where he commented on the rumors circulating about Uzbekistan allegedly buying gold from Russia.

“This information is completely untrue. Absolutely incorrect. We have never bought gold from any other country and have no plans to do so. We have enough of our own gold,” Ishmetov emphasized.

The Central Bank chief also referred to an article published earlier in The Economist, noting that the institution had contacted the magazine regarding the misinformation.

“A few months ago, The Economist published an article containing such claims. We sent them an official inquiry asking where they had obtained that information and pointed out that it was inaccurate. They corrected the mistake in their next issue. It was a very puzzling situation,” he said.