Major fraud ring exposed after Bukhara resident loses over UZS 1 billion

The Ministry of Internal Affairs press service reported the details of the incident on May 10, stating that the crime originally took place on December 1, 2025.

The victim was contacted via Telegram by unidentified individuals posing as high–ranking officials from the Central Bank. The scammers convinced her that bank employees were embezzling the savings she held in several commercial banks. To "secure" her funds, they pressured her into immediately transferring her life savings to what they described as "safe" plastic cards. Fearing the loss of her money, the woman transferred a total of UZS 1,009,000,000 from her accounts across four different banks to cards designated by the fraudsters.

Realizing she had been deceived several days later, the victim contacted law enforcement. Officers from the Bukhara Regional Internal Affairs Bureau’s Cybercrime Division launched an investigation that eventually led them to Tashkent. During a targeted operation in the capital, authorities apprehended two primary suspects responsible for managing the criminal group and cashing out the stolen funds.

The criminal network utilized a complex, multi-stage "drop-card" scheme to mask the money trail. The stolen UZS 1 billion was dispersed among cards registered to at least five different individuals across the country. In one instance, UZS 325 million was sent to a young man in Tashkent who had sold two bank cards registered in his name for a mere UZS 1 million. These cards were then resold for UZS 2 million to a key gang member from Khorezm, who cashed out the funds at ATMs in the capital.

Similar patterns were discovered in other regions. In Khorezm, UZS 274 million was funneled through six cards sold by a local resident. In another case, UZS 238 million reached the accounts of a student in Tashkent, who had sold his cards to two teenagers, one of whom was a minor, for UZS 600,000. These cards were eventually used to convert the stolen money into cryptocurrency. Smaller amounts were also traced to virtual cards and accounts in Andijan, Kokand, Namangan, and Jizzakh to further confuse investigators.

Despite the intricate efforts to hide their digital footprints, law enforcement successfully traced the transactions. During the arrest of the two main suspects in Tashkent, officers seized luxury vehicles, numerous mobile phones, SIM cards, dozens of bank cards, and over UZS 100 million in cash as evidence.

A criminal case has been initiated under Article 168, Part 4, Clause "a" (Fraud) of the Criminal Code, which carries heavy penalties for large-scale theft. Authorities have managed to recover the full amount of UZS 1,009,000,000, which has been returned to the victim. Investigations are ongoing to identify other participants in the regional criminal network.