Tashkent Court Sentences Extortion Ring from Farkhad Auto Market

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The Uchtepa District Court on Criminal Cases has announced a verdict against 14 individuals accused of systematic extortion and fraud on the territory of the Farkhad automotive spare parts market. According to the press service of the Tashkent city courts, the judicial decision was issued on 29 June 2026.

Taking into account the nature and severity of the committed crimes, the defendants in the case were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 3 to 6.5 years. The specific circumstances of the case and the presence of prior convictions among the defendants were taken into account when determining the conditions for serving the sentences. Consequently, a portion of the convicted individuals was sent to maximum-security colonies, while the remainder will serve their established terms in general-regimen colonies.

In July 2025, law enforcement agencies reported the detention of 12 suspects for committing unlawful acts at the auto parts market on Farkhad Street in the capital's Uchtepa district. Criminal cases were initiated against the detained individuals, who included natives of Tashkent, Surkhandarya, and Kashkadarya regions aged between 23 and 37, under Articles 165 (Extortion) and 168 (Fraud) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The investigation established that the members of the criminal group practiced installing additional parts and devices on citizens' cars without the prior consent of the owners themselves. After conducting the unapproved work, the perpetrators demanded disproportionately high payments from the drivers, utilizing psychological pressure and direct threats to achieve their goal.

Specific episodes of criminal activity were recorded during the investigation. In one instance, the suspects demanded US$13.3 thousand from a car owner for services whose actual market value did not exceed US$600. In other episodes, one of the victims paid 15 million soums under pressure, while two other citizens were forced to hand over 70 million soums for work that was not actually performed.