Uzbekistan's Yazyavan District Criminal Court has sentenced 34 members of an organized crime group that extorted money from Russian citizens. As RIA Novosti was informed at the press center of the State Security Service (SSS) of the republic, the convicted received real prison sentences – from 3.5 to 9.5 years. The other 13 defendants were sentenced to restrictions of freedom for periods ranging from 4 years and 3 months to 4.5 years. In addition, all convicted persons have the obligation to compensate the victim for the material damage caused.
The criminal structure was discovered by SGB officials in February 2025. The organization operated under the cover of three legitimate call centers: two of them located in Fergana, one in Tashkent. The attackers used the personal data of 70 thousand Russian citizens who had previously ordered food supplements via the Internet. It was this database that became the main tool for finding victims.
The deception plan was carefully thought out. The “operators” introduced themselves as employees of the investigative agency and informed gullible Russians that the sellers of dietary supplements had allegedly caused them moral harm and had to pay compensation of up to 500 thousand rubles. Another part of the scammers, on behalf of representatives of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, promised payment in cash but demanded payment of income tax in advance. Victims were asked to transfer “donations” to controlled accounts, without which return of the money was allegedly impossible.
In total, the criminals defrauded the Russians of about 9.6 million rubles. The investigation demonstrated that members of the organized crime group operated as part of an organized group, used illegal access to computer information, laundered the proceeds of crime and violated the law in the field of crypto asset trading. The relevant provisions of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan formed the basis for the indictment.
The State Security Service of Uzbekistan emphasized that the verdict is the result of a large-scale and painstaking work process. During the investigation, not only were all participants in the criminal conspiracy identified, but their illegal actions were also recorded. This case once again proves that cross-border fraud goes unpunished and that cooperation between law enforcement agencies of different countries makes it possible to effectively fight crime, regardless of its scale and geography.
Read more: Security forces arrested 3 Russians working for fraudulent Ukrainian call centers
Subscribe to MK channel at MAX. With him you will know all the latest events