Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — A lawyer and his accomplice have been detained for fraudulently posing as officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, according to the State Security Service (SSS).

Acting on a tip received via the SSS Call Center, an operation was conducted in cooperation with the Department for Combating Economic Crimes under the Prosecutor General’s Office.

Investigators found that a Tashkent resident, born in 1980 and previously convicted of fraud, had conspired with a practicing lawyer from a local law office. They falsely presented the lawyer as a high-ranking official from the Department for the Execution of Sentences of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In exchange for a bribe, they promised to arrange the transfer of a convicted individual — sentenced in 2024 to 8 years and 7 months of imprisonment — from Correctional Facility No. 1 in Bukhara Region to Facility No. 7 in Tashkent Region.

They demanded US$5,000 for the service.

The suspects were apprehended while receiving the money, with physical evidence secured at the scene. A criminal case has been launched under Articles 168 and 28.211 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Both individuals have been placed in pre-trial detention.