Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — An employee of JSC “Khalk Bank,” working as a neighborhood banker at the Banking Services Center in the Uzbekistan district of Ferghana region, together with the deputy head of the center, extorted 10 million soums for processing a loan of 66 million soums issued in the names of two citizens.

During operational measures carried out jointly with officers from the State Security Service (SSS) and the Department for Combating Economic Crimes, the banker was detained with physical evidence while receiving the specified sum.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the banker had previously received 600,000 soums, and the deputy head of the center had obtained 920,000 soums in exchange for issuing the loan.

Additionally, officials of the Banking Services Center — two assistants to the khokim of the Uzbekistan district and the head of an LLC specializing in wholesale trade — used forged documents to illegally secure unjustified loans totaling 153 million soums in the names of other citizens. These funds were subsequently cashed out and embezzled.

Currently, a criminal case has been initiated against the individuals involved under Article 168, Part 3, Paragraph “v” of the Criminal Code, and an investigation is underway.

It is worth noting that the deputy head of the center had previously been convicted under Articles 168 Part 1 and 211 Part 1 of the Criminal Code in 2000 and 2015 but failed to learn from past mistakes.