Three Detained in Samarkand Region for Illegal Gold Sales

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Officers of the State Security Service Directorate for Kashkadarya Region, together with the Department for Combating Economic Crimes, conducted an operation in the Kattakurgan district of Samarkand Region, detaining three individuals born in 1982, 1984, and 1996, residents of Navoi and Samarkand regions.

They attempted to illegally sell two gold bars weighing a total of 475 grams for 737 million soums, having already received an advance payment of 500 million soums.

According to the Precious Metals Control Inspectorate, the net weight of the gold amounted to 472 grams with a 994 fineness, and its total value was assessed at 740.4 million soums.

A criminal case has been opened against the detainees under Article 177, Part 4, Paragraph “a” of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan (illegal acquisition or circulation of foreign currency assets). An investigation is underway.

Two of the suspects had prior criminal records, and one of them was currently serving a sentence of corrective labor.

Authorities remind citizens of the strict prohibition on participating in illegal transactions involving precious metals.