Criminal group of 34 exposed in Tashkent and Fergana (video)

A criminal group consisting of 34 people and led by a 40-year-old resident of Fergana has been uncovered, the State Security Service reported.

According to the investigation, the group fraudulently obtained large sums of money on an international scale. The suspects rented premises in Fergana and Tashkent and operated under the guise of call centers.

Using information technology, they obtained personal data of more than 70,000 clients of organizations in Russia involved in the sale of medicines and dietary supplements.

Fake call center operators contacted mainly elderly victims via SIP telephony and the Zoiper app, posing as law enforcement officers and bank employees. They claimed that the companies had sold low-quality products and promised compensation of 500,000 to 580,000 rubles (about 80–92 million soums). Victims were told they had to pay a “tax” of 5,000 to 20,000 rubles (about 800,000 to 3.2 million soums) to receive the compensation.

As a result, victims transferred a total of 9,599,561 rubles (about 1.537 billion soums) to bank cards provided by the group.

Three members of the group also carried out cryptocurrency transactions worth nearly $470,000 without obtaining the required license, in violation of regulations governing crypto exchanges in Uzbekistan.

The Yozyavan District Court found the group members guilty under several Criminal Code articles, including fraud, money laundering, illegal use of telecommunications networks, and violations of crypto-asset regulations. Twenty-one members were sentenced to prison terms ranging from three years and six months to nine years and six months. The remaining 13 received restricted liberty sentences of four years and three months to four years and six months and were fined. Compensation for material damages to victims will be recovered.

Earlier, authorities reported uncovering a clandestine call-center “cyber bunker” involved in fraud in Tashkent’s Chilanzar district.

Javohir Aliqulov