Journalist faces trial after exposing bank loan fraud

Rukhsora Gafurova, a correspondent for the "Mening Yurtim" TV channel, conducted an investigation into allegations that an employee of the People's Bank in Jizzakh had issued fraudulent loans in the names of several citizens and embezzled the funds. The affected individuals claimed that for two years, their monthly income and pension payments had been automatically transferred to the bank to cover a loan they never applied for.  

"He takes everything from his plastic card, withdraws it all—every penny. Our children had to stop attending extra lessons because we didn’t have enough money. Now, for example, we are paying for food we never ate. Why should we pay for a loan he took and spent on himself?" the petitioners protested.  

However, instead of taking legal action against the bank employee accused of fraud, authorities opened an administrative case against the journalist who exposed the issue.  

"The journalist's investigation was based on complaints received from citizens. The findings were published on social media and widely circulated. Dissatisfied with this, a People's Bank employee, Gulnur Boltaeva, filed a complaint in court, accusing Gafurova of disclosing personal information and requesting a criminal case be opened against her. However, the Internal Affairs Directorate rejected the request for a criminal case and instead initiated administrative proceedings against the journalist", Gafurova’s lawyer said. 

On February 26, the case was scheduled for a hearing at the Mirzo Ulugbek District Court of Tashkent for Criminal Cases. However, for unspecified reasons, the court returned the case for further investigation.  

"We have repeatedly approached law enforcement regarding this case, but the prevention inspector refused to grant us access to the administrative case materials. To this day, the defense has not been provided with the full case files. Rukhsora Gafurova herself also requested access to the documents but was not given details about the accusations against her. This is a clear violation of her defense rights. When we arrived at court today for the 10:00 hearing, we were informed that it would not take place. The judge stated, ‘I sent the case back to the investigative bodies before 10:00 today due to shortcomings in the administrative offense materials. It has been returned for corrections,’" said lawyer Davron Akhmedov.  

Despite the legal pressure, Gafurova remains confident that justice will prevail.  

"Today, we see loans being issued in someone else’s name. Someone has to talk about this, right? If one person speaks up about a case, it can prevent thousands of others," she said.  

The People's Bank employee who filed the complaint against Gafurova objected to having her name disclosed in the journalist's investigation. However, the identity of the accused was initially revealed by the victims themselves during the inquiry. Gafurova’s lawyer asserts that she did not violate any laws and that the charges against her lack legal basis. According to the defense, Gafurova did not commit any administrative offense, nor did she unlawfully disclose personal information.