Uzbek Court Sentences Members of Major Fraud Scheme

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — A district criminal court in Yunusabad, presided over by Judge Shamsiddin Tojiev, has issued a verdict in the case involving the “Umid Avto” group, whose activities affected hundreds of citizens across Uzbekistan.

As part of the proceedings, 14 defendants were found guilty of large-scale fraud linked to promises of vehicle delivery on preferential terms.

According to case materials, the defendants established more than 20 limited liability companies, including “Umid Avto Companies,” “Umid Savdo Fayz Invest,” and “Umid Avto Lizing.” Through social media platforms, they actively promoted services offering cars of any brand at reduced interest rates.

Initially, investigators examined nearly 1,000 episodes of criminal activity with total damages estimated at 88.5 billion Uzbek soums.

During the trial, however, the defendants were acquitted on 130 episodes, and some victims withdrew their claims.

As a result, the court ordered the recovery of more than 60 billion soums in favor of victims across 834 confirmed episodes.

Key figures in the case received prison sentences. The alleged organizer of the network, Abdumannon Abdukhmanov, and Dilshod Kodirov were each sentenced to 10 years in prison. Other participants received sentences ranging from 5 to 9 years. The only female defendant, Umidabonu Khudoyberdieva, was sentenced to 5 years in prison.

Investigators established that the group’s activities were stopped in 2025 when law enforcement detained the organizers of the scheme, which operated under the guise of an auto leasing company.

The participants had promised customers rapid vehicle delivery but in reality misused the funds for fraudulent purposes, operating through an extensive branch network across the country.