Man Arrested in Bukhara for Illegal Crypto Transactions Worth Over 18 Billion Soums

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Authorities in Bukhara Region have uncovered a case of illegal cryptocurrency activity on a particularly large scale, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported.

The suspect, a native of Andijan Region, had previously been convicted in connection with illegal trading operations totaling 26 billion soums. In August 2025, taking into account his admission of guilt and remorse, the court sentenced him to restricted freedom.

Despite this, the man continued his illegal activities. Between April 20 and September 30, 2025, he conducted 2,407 trading operations via the Binance and Bitget cryptocurrency platforms without the necessary licenses.

During these transactions, he received, transferred, and exchanged crypto assets totaling 1,373,824 USDT, equivalent to 18.167 billion soums.

Investigators established that 1 billion soums were withdrawn from the victim’s and civil plaintiff’s bank cards, then routed through third-party cards. An additional 757 million soums were deposited onto cards controlled by the suspect, and the funds were subsequently transferred to unknown crypto exchange accounts as part of his trading operations.

A search of the suspect’s Redmi Note 11 Pro phone revealed approximately 15 email accounts. Verification within the Binance application confirmed that the suspect personally conducted trades using a crypto wallet registered in his name.

A criminal case has been opened under Article 278-8 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan (violation of cryptocurrency regulations on a particularly large scale), and the investigation is ongoing.