In Bukhara Region, an accountant fell victim to fraudsters operating via Telegram: believing people who introduced themselves as Central Bank employees, she transferred them 1 billion 9 million soums.

The incident occurred in December of last year. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the criminals convinced the woman that bank employees were allegedly trying to steal her savings and offered to “save” the money by transferring it to “secure cards.”

The funds were sent from four different banks. The money was then cashed out through drop cards registered to citizens in Tashkent, Khorezm, Andijan, and other regions.

As уточняется, minors and students took part in the scheme: they sold their bank cards to intermediaries for amounts ranging from 100,000 to 1 million soums. The proceeds were withdrawn via ATMs in various cities or converted into cryptocurrency.

During an оперативное operation in Tashkent, two main organizers were detained. During a search of their cars, dozens of phones, SIM cards, and more than 100 million soums were seized.

A criminal case has been opened under пункт “a” of part 4 of Article 168 (fraud) of the Criminal Code. The stolen 1 billion 9 million soums were returned to the victim.