Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A number of foreign and local media published information that the Swiss Federal Criminal Court ruled on the case of confiscation of illegally obtained funds belonging to Takilant Ltd. the beneficiary, which is Gulnara Karimova.

However, in the information published in the media, not all the details of the court's decision were disclosed, which hinders the objective delivery of reliable information on this case to the public, the Ministry of Justice said in a statement.

In 2012, the Swiss Federal Prosecutor's Office launched a large-scale investigation into suspicions of money laundering and forgery in relation to Gulnara Karimova and persons associated with her.

It is about laundering large amounts of money illegally obtained from foreign telecommunications companies in exchange for access to the Uzbek market and unhindered work on it.

Funds of "Takilant Ltd." holdings in Swiss banks totaling more than US$350 million were confiscated by the Swiss Federal Prosecutor's Office as part of a Swiss law enforcement criminal investigation.

In his statement published on 22 December, the Swiss court reported the confiscation of more than US$293 million, in view of the conviction of Gulnara Karimova and her accomplices of aggravated money laundering.

This is a significant victory for the Swiss law enforcement agencies, as it opens up an opportunity for further negotiations on their return to the Republic of Uzbekistan.

At the same time, according to the court decision, about US$70 million can be returned to Takilant Ltd., minus procedural costs.

Some media outlets misinterpret this part of the court's decision and disseminate unsubstantiated messages.

It should be noted that the decision of the Swiss Federal Criminal Court of 17 December 2021 is not final, since it determines that the parties, in particular the Swiss law enforcement agencies, have the right to appeal against the said court decision.

In addition, in relation to these funds, there is also a claim and an order of the competent authorities of the United States for imposing an arrest on them, which makes it impossible to return these funds to the company even if the said decision of the Swiss court comes into force.

At the same time, the Uzbek state bodies are actively working with the authorities of Switzerland and the United States to return the assets of Gulnara Karimova and her accomplices, obtained as a result of criminal activity, from which the state and people of Uzbekistan suffered.