Uzbekistan’s Interior Ministry Reports Detention of Taftish.uz Staff in Extortion and Fraud Case

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has reported the detention of employees of the Taftish.uz outlet, who are suspected of extortion, fraud, defamation, and the dissemination of false information.

According to law enforcement authorities, representatives of Taftish.uz, which operated under Elita-Media LLC, formed an organized criminal group and were systematically engaged in extortion and fraudulent activities.

The group was allegedly led by the project’s informal head, Gairat Aberaev, born in 1988. Other members included correspondents Azizjon Yuldashev (born 1992), Sardor Khamidov (born 2000), Marjona Eshkuvvatova (born 2006), and Dilshod Nishonov (born 1998).

Investigators say the group turned the publication and removal of video materials into a source of income. They allegedly misled complainants and then threatened citizens with the publication of videos that would damage their honor and dignity or otherwise discredit them. Money was demanded in exchange for removing already published content.

As a result, the group reportedly received payments both for covering complaints and for refraining from further publications.

One episode cited by the Interior Ministry dates back to November 2025, when, on Aberaev’s instructions, video materials discrediting the administration of the Chilanzar household goods trading complex were produced. The pretext was a dispute between market management and an entrepreneur who had purchased a retail space. Although the conflict had previously been reviewed by a court and resolved by a lawful decision, the group, fully aware of this, allegedly presented the situation in a one-sided manner in exchange for payment from the complainant. The video was published on the Taftish.uz YouTube channel on December 5.

Following the publication, investigators say Aberaev, acting through Sardor Khamidov, demanded 40 million soums from the market administration to remove the video, promising in return to post a message stating that the facts had not been confirmed. To conceal the extortion, a contract was signed with Taftish.uz for the stated amount, while 10 million soums were transferred to Khamidov’s bank card.

The Interior Ministry stressed that the group’s methods were comparable to, and in some cases exceeded, those of street criminal gangs. By intimidating entrepreneurs with threats of reputational damage and placing them in a position with no alternatives, the group effectively usurped the functions of judicial authorities.

The investigation also established that in November 2025 Marjona Eshkuvvatova, Azizjon Yuldashev, and Dilshod Nishonov, after receiving money from one of the parties, prepared a video containing fabricated details about the activities of the construction company Black Plast operating in the Samarkand region and published it on the Taftish.uz channel.

By threatening to release two additional videos, they summoned the company’s director, Kh. Turaev, to their office and, under the pretext of refusing further publications, forced him to write a promissory note for an allegedly existing debt of 20 billion soums.

In addition, the entrepreneur was reportedly compelled to pay a further 60 million soums and to sign a fictitious contract to cover up the illegal receipt of funds. When he failed to transfer the money within the set timeframe, new discrediting videos were published. As a result, on January 8 and 12 he transferred 30 million soums on each occasion to the group members’ bank cards in exchange for the removal of the videos.

A separate episode concerns the actions of Dilshod Nishonov in the Namangan region. In October 2025, he allegedly unlawfully interfered in materials of a criminal case related to a conflict between the Yusupov and Tumorov families and, for remuneration, disseminated false information discrediting one of the parties. He prepared 18 videos and published them over a ten-day period.

For spreading false information, Nishonov was brought to administrative liability by a decision of the Pop District Court. However, investigators say that immediately afterward he resumed extortion, initially demanding US$300 and then additional sums, including 1.8 million and 16 million soums, forcing the victims to sign fictitious contracts.

According to the Interior Ministry, the actions of the group members fall under Articles 139 (Defamation), 168 (Fraud), 165 (Extortion), and 244⁶ (Dissemination of False Information) of Uzbekistan’s Criminal Code. All suspects have been detained in accordance with procedural requirements.

The ministry noted that a large number of complaints from citizens suggest the existence of other potential victims. It urged anyone who may have suffered from the group’s illegal actions to contact the Investigative Department at +998 71 231 40 66.