A woman working as an accountant at a major organization in Bukhara lost over 1 billion soums following a single phone call. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan released information regarding this on May 10.
It is noted that the incident occurred on December 1, 2025. On that day, unknown individuals called the victim via Telegram, introducing themselves as officials from the Central Bank of Uzbekistan. They convinced the woman that her savings in commercial banks were being embezzled by bank staff and that she needed to urgently transfer the funds to other "safe" plastic cards.
Worried about losing her savings, the woman transferred a total of 1 billion 9 million soums from four different banks to the cards specified by the fraudsters using various payment applications. A few days later, realizing she had been deceived, she contacted law enforcement agencies.
Following this, officers from the Bukhara Regional Department of Internal Affairs' Cybercrime Combatting Unit conducted operational measures, leading to the arrest of two main suspects in Tashkent who were coordinating the criminal group's activities and laundering the money.
Currently, a criminal case has been initiated against them under Article 168, Part 4, Clause "a" of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan (fraud), and the investigation is ongoing. Additionally, restrictions have been placed on all identified plastic cards via a special system.
According to investigative data, the criminals used a complex, multi-stage scheme to make the money disappear without a trace.
The stolen 1 billion-plus soums were distributed through "drop cards" opened in the names of five citizens. Specifically, 325 million soums landed on a card belonging to a young man from the capital. He had opened two bank cards in his name and sold them to another person for 1 million soums. The intermediary then handed the cards over for 2 million soums to one of the main participants of the criminal group, a native of Khorezm. Later, this money was cashed out from ATMs by two accomplices.
Another 274 million soums were transferred to the card of a citizen living in the Khorezm region. He had sold six bank cards in his name to an acquaintance for 1 million soums. These funds were later withdrawn via various ATMs in Tashkent.
Additionally, 238 million soums were deposited into two cards belonging to a student studying in the capital. The student sold these cards to two teenagers, including a minor school student, for 600,000 soums. Later, these cards were sold to unknown persons via social media, and the funds were converted into cryptocurrency.
In the fourth instance, 72 million soums were deposited into the virtual card of a minor living in the Andijan region and then distributed to other accounts. It turned out he had sold his virtual card to an acquaintance for 100,000 soums. Part of the funds was cashed out via ATMs in the city of Kokand.
The remaining 100 million soums were transferred to the card of an individual living in the Tashkent region, and then to a card in the name of a young man from Sirdaryo. He also sold his cards to intermediaries for 1 million soums. Furthermore, to cover their tracks, parts of the funds were distributed to cards of citizens in the Namangan, Jizzakh, and Andijan regions.
As a result of search operations and careful analysis of digital footprints, the expensive vehicles of the two suspects arrested in Tashkent were searched. Evidence seized included various mobile phones, SIM cards, dozens of plastic bank cards, and over 100 million soums in cash. The suspects were detained at the scene.
Most importantly, it was announced that the victim's total stolen amount of 1 billion 9 million soums has been fully recovered.
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