Uzbekistan Suspends Collection of Online Loans from Victims of Cyber Fraud

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Uzbekistan is suspending the collection of online loans from citizens who have fallen victim to fraud, the Ministry of Justice of the republic has announced.

The relevant Regulation on minimum requirements for ensuring information and cybersecurity, as well as preventing fraud in the provision of remote financial services, was registered by the Ministry of Justice and the Central Bank on 21 January. The document will enter into force three months later.

Fraud refers to any unlawful actions aimed at deception and the misappropriation of funds or resources, including those carried out using information technologies.

Under the regulation, credit institutions are required to stop accruing interest, penalties, and fines, as well as to suspend the collection of debt on an online loan if the borrowing was carried out as a result of fraud and the citizen is recognized as a victim on the basis of a decision by an inquiry officer, investigator, prosecutor, or a court ruling.

If the amount of the online loan or microloan and related payments have already been collected from the victim, the credit institution must refund the funds to the person’s bank card within 15 days or transfer them to the specified account on the basis of a court decision.

At the same time, the credit institution retains the right to recover the material damage caused through a recourse claim against the person who committed the fraud. If signs of fraud are identified, a bank or payment organization is also entitled to file a complaint in accordance with the procedure established by law.

If, following an inquiry, preliminary investigation, or court proceedings, the fact of fraud is not confirmed, the accrual of interest and the collection of debt on the online loan will be resumed.

Earlier, at a meeting with the president in November, it was reported that more than 31 million people in Uzbekistan use the internet. Over the past five years, the number of cybercrimes in the country has increased 68-fold, and in just the first 10 months of last year more than 46,000 such cases were recorded. The total material damage caused to individuals and legal entities exceeded 1.2 trillion soums.

At that time, the head of state instructed that citizens be released from obligations on microloans taken out fraudulently without their knowledge and that round-the-clock blocking of suspicious bank accounts be ensured.