UPay owner Maroqand declared bankrupt as court orders liquidation

According to the court’s ruling issued on 2 February 2026, Maroqand JSC was officially recognized as bankrupt due to its inability to meet financial obligations. The decision launches a formal process to dissolve the company.

Maroqand JSC owns UPay, a digital payment service designed for managing personal funds, paying for government services, mobile communications, internet access, online games, transferring money between bank cards, and topping up electronic wallets. The company is part of the Humans fintech ecosystem, which fully acquired Maroqand in May 2022.

In October 2024, Uzbekistan’s Central Bank imposed a six-month restriction on Maroqand’s operations after finding that the payment organization had allowed transactions related to prohibited services, including gambling. This regulatory action significantly limited the company’s ability to operate.

Earlier, in October 2025, the same court declared Humans LLC bankrupt, further weakening the financial position of companies linked to the ecosystem.

Mass unauthorized withdrawals

On 9 December 2025, reports began circulating on social media alleging that funds were being withdrawn without authorization from bank cards linked to the Humans mobile application. The Central Bank later confirmed the incident and announced the launch of an investigation.

As part of its response, the regulator contacted Octogram JSC (operating under the Paylov trademark) and ordered the suspension of P2P transactions to ensure compliance with security requirements and eliminate potential vulnerabilities. On the same day, all payment services provided by Octogram through the Humans app were temporarily suspended.

Humans later stated that the unauthorized withdrawals had occurred between 4 and 8 December, claiming that the funds were stolen by fraudsters. The company denied responsibility, attributing the incident to a technical failure within the Paylov service.

Investigation and further legal proceedings

In January 2026, it was reported that more than 2,000 individuals had lost nearly UZS 7 billion through the Humans application. The Central Bank completed its inspection of the Paylov payment organization and submitted its findings to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

A criminal case has been opened, and preliminary investigative actions are currently being conducted by the Investigation Department under the Ministry of Internal Affairs.