A court in Uzbekistan's Yunusabad district has sentenced 14 individuals to prison terms ranging from 5 to 10 years for defrauding over 840 people of 88.5 billion soums ($7.2 million) through fake car purchase schemes. The case was heard under Judge Shamsiddin Tojiyev.

The defendants were charged with 987 counts of fraud. The court acquitted them on 130 counts after some victims withdrew their claims. For the remaining 834 counts, the court ordered the recovery of over 60 billion soums ($4.9 million) in favor of the victims.

The scammers allegedly registered more than 20 limited liability companies across Uzbekistan, including “Umid avto companies”, “Umid Savdo Fayz Invest”, “Umid Avto Lizing”, and “Umid Auto”. They reportedly advertised on social media, promising to deliver any type of car at low interest rates.

The leader of the group, Abdumannop Abdurakhmanov, was detained in early January 2025. By the end of June 2025, the entire group was apprehended. In an interview with Kun.uz, Abdurakhmanov allegedly blamed the failure to fulfill obligations on the mass closure of dozens of leasing companies in 2022–2023.

Sentences handed down: Dilshod Kodirov and Abdumannop Abdurakhmanov — 10 years each; Mirkodir Rakhimov — 9 years; ten other defendants — 6 to 8 years; Umidabonu Khudoyberdiyeva — 5 years. Some sentences were partially combined with punishments from other cases.

Source: kun.uz