Money from the daughter of ex-ruler Switzerland transfers millions to Uzbekistan

Switzerland reaches an agreement with Uzbekistan on the return of 182 million dollars. The money was confiscated in criminal proceedings against Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of former President Islam Karimov.

Keystone-SDA

06.02.2025, 23:48

07.02.2025, 06:45

SDA

Uzbekistan and Switzerland signed an agreement in Tashkent on Thursday to return 182 million dollars (approx. 165 million Swiss francs). The money had been confiscated by Switzerland in criminal proceedings against Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of former President Islam Karimov.

The money will be returned in accordance with the restitution agreement between Switzerland and Uzbekistan, as the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) wrote at the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency. In the agreement, the two countries agreed in 2022 to create a United Nations Multi-Partner Trust Fund.

The money from the restitution will benefit the people of Uzbekistan via the fund. The fund will be used for the monies that were definitively confiscated as part of the Swiss criminal proceedings against Gulnara Karimova.

313 million refunded

According to information from the Uzbek Ministry of Justice, the funds returned in this context now amount to 313 million dollars (approx. 283 million Swiss francs). Switzerland had transferred 131 million dollars (118.5 million Swiss francs) in a first tranche.

In total, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland froze over 800 million francs in the criminal proceedings against Karimova and other of her compatriots. The Swiss prosecution authorities accuse Karimova of participating in a criminal organization. She is also charged with money laundering, bribery and forgery.

According to the indictment issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland in September 2023, Karimova is alleged to have set up and managed a criminal, hierarchically structured organization called "Office" from at least 2001 to 2013. The criminal network comprised several dozen people and around one hundred companies.

Laundering bribes

The organization hid money from criminal activities in bank accounts, safes and real estate. The players followed binding rules and a strict division of tasks. They also resorted to violence and intimidation.

Karimova and her accomplices enriched themselves in the telecommunications industry in Uzbekistan, which grew rapidly in the 2000s. Companies that wanted to get in had to pay bribes to companies belonging to "Office" or to Karimova.

Karimova used her status as the daughter of then President Islam Karimov and as an Uzbek public official to her advantage. She had unlimited influence over the country's officials. Her father ruled Uzbekistan with an iron hand for a quarter of a century until 2016. Karimova was sentenced to 13 years in prison in her home country in 2020.