Gulnara Karimova’s criminal cases. Image: Fergana collage
Belgium will return $108 million to Uzbekistan in connection with a long-running corruption and money laundering case in the telecommunications sector, Belgian prosecutors announced.
On March 28, the Brussels public prosecutor formally requested that the Central Office for Seizure and Confiscation (COIV) transfer $108 million to the Belgian state treasury. The funds, which had been definitively confiscated after an investigation into bribery and money laundering tied to telecom contracts, are linked to the case involving Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of Uzbekistan’s first president.
Uzbek judicial authorities had previously requested legal assistance from Belgium under the UN Convention against Corruption. According to Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Justice, the case involved assets totaling $240 million. Belgian authorities froze $200 million during their investigation. A Dutch court later ruled that the seized funds and accrued interest should be split between the two countries, resulting in $108 million being allocated to Uzbekistan.
👉 In September 2022, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Justice reported that nearly $1.3 billion in illicit assets tied to Karimova remained abroad.
The country has been gradually recovering these funds through international cooperation. In May 2020, France returned $10 million in assets. In September 2020, Switzerland signed a framework agreement to return $131 million, followed by another $10 million in February 2022. Most recently, in February 2025, Switzerland agreed to transfer an additional $182 million in confiscated assets.
Investigations into Karimova and her network began across Europe in 2012. She was found to have illegally received large sums from telecom giants—including TeliaSonera, VimpelCom, Alfa Telecom, and MTS—in exchange for market access in Uzbekistan. She then laundered the money abroad, primarily in Switzerland. In 2018, Swiss authorities confiscated over $555 million from accounts linked to Karimova.
Since 2013, multiple criminal cases have been brought against her in Uzbekistan on charges including embezzlement, tax evasion, and organizing a criminal enterprise. She has received several prison sentences, including a 13-year term, and is currently serving time in a women’s penal colony near Tashkent.
