Uzbekistan Uncovers Large-Scale Driver’s License Forgery Scheme

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The General Prosecutor’s Office of Uzbekistan has uncovered and dismantled a criminal scheme involving the mass forgery of driver’s licenses, implicating employees of territorial public service centers and intermediaries.

The investigation revealed that throughout 2025, a senior specialist at one of the public service centers, in collusion with accomplices, issued driver’s licenses to individuals who had never previously obtained them and had not passed the mandatory examinations, in exchange for bribes. The total illicit gains exceeded 616 million soms. Seventy-two people received forged documents through this scheme.

Charges have been filed against the public service center employee and their accomplices under articles relating to bribery and the forgery of official documents. All suspects have been taken into custody.

The investigation identified two main methods used by the criminal group. In the first scheme, intermediaries produced homemade driver’s licenses of the old format for US$500–1,000 and then, for a bribe, facilitated their “exchange” at the public service center for licenses of the new format. In the second scheme, for amounts up to US$10,000, certificates from traffic safety authorities were forged, including fake signatures and QR codes, which were then used to obtain new licenses.

In all cases, the applicants knowingly submitted applications to the public service centers claiming that their licenses were lost, using the forged documents. As a result, all 72 applicants have been recognized as accomplices in crimes related to document forgery and bribery of officials.

Further inspections in the regions uncovered more than 1,200 forged driver’s licenses. The largest numbers were found in Tashkent (440), Navoi (265), Surkhandarya (205), and Samarkand (146) regions. Criminal cases have been initiated for all identified instances.

All driver’s licenses issued on the basis of falsified documents have been annulled. Authorities are currently determining criminal liability for both the creators of the forged documents and the individuals who used them.

The General Prosecutor’s Office reminded citizens that the only legal way to obtain a driver’s license is through accredited driving schools and successful completion of both theoretical and practical examinations, urging the public to refrain from illegal methods of obtaining documents.