Gulnara Karimova, 2013. Photo: abcnews.com
On February 6, an agreement was signed in Tashkent for the transfer of $182 million from the confiscated assets of Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of Uzbekistan’s first president, the country’s Ministry of Justice announced.
The agreement on the redistribution of seized assets was signed between the government of Uzbekistan and the Swiss Federal Council. Uzbekistan’s Minister of Justice Akbar Tashkulov and Swiss Ambassador Konstantin Obolensky signed the deal.
«Under this agreement, Uzbekistan will receive approximately $182 million. These funds were illegally obtained by certain Uzbek citizens and fully confiscated in 2012 as part of a criminal case initiated by the Swiss Attorney General’s Office against G. Karimova,» the ministry stated.
The funds will be channeled through the Uzbekistan Vision 2030 trust fund, established under the UN. The return mechanism was agreed upon in August 2022. The money will be used to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including poverty and hunger eradication, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, and economic growth.
👉 In September 2022, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Justice estimated that Karimova’s illicit overseas assets totaled nearly $1.3 billion.
Previous Asset Returns
In May 2020, France returned $10 million to Uzbekistan.
In September 2020, Switzerland signed a framework agreement to return $131 million.
In February 2022, France returned another $10 million.
In September 2023, $43.5 million from Karimova’s frozen assets was allocated to a UN program aimed at reducing maternal and neonatal mortality in Uzbekistan.
With this latest agreement, Switzerland will have repatriated a total of $313 million from Karimova’s assets.
Signing of the Agreement on the Return of $182 Million from Gulnara Karimova’s Assets to Uzbekistan. Photo: Ministry of Justice
The investigation into Karimova’s criminal activities and affiliated companies began in 2012 in Europe. She was found guilty of receiving large bribes from telecom giants TeliaSonera, Vimpelcom, Alfa Telecom, and MTS in exchange for market access in Uzbekistan and laundering the money abroad—primarily in Switzerland. In 2018, Switzerland confiscated over $555 million linked to her.
In Uzbekistan, multiple criminal cases have been opened against Karimova since 2013 on charges of embezzlement, tax evasion, and running a criminal organization. She has received multiple sentences, including 13 years in prison, and is currently serving her term in a women’s penal colony near Tashkent.
