Uzbekistan reclaims another $95 million from Gulnara Karimova’s foreign assets

Uzbek authorities have recovered $95 million from Gulnara Karimova’s assets. Previously, the daughter of the late president of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov illegally transferred these funds to Switzerland, as reported by Daryo.uz, citing Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Otabek Fozilkarimov.

All in all, the Swiss government had agreed to return $131 million within the first tranche, of which $87 million has already been received by Uzbekistan and allocated to the healthcare and education sectors on an equal basis ($43.5 million for each).

Furthermore, Uzbekistan plans to recover an additional $108 million from Belgium, as negotiations between the two countries on the issue are underway.

According to Konstantin Obolensky, Swiss Ambassador to Tashkent, his country is ready to transfer a total of $313 million confiscated from Karimova to Uzbekistan.

As UN Resident Coordinator in Uzbekistan Sabina Makhl noted, the money in question belongs to the people of Uzbekistan, which is why these funds are being allocated to socially important sectors such as healthcare and education.

The Uzbek Ministry of Economy clarified that under the restitution agreement, the money will be received in two tranches: $131 million and then $182 million in the second tranche. Last year, the Office of the Attorney General of the Swiss Confederation accused Lombard Odier Bank and its former employee of laundering funds related to the activities of the fake organization known as «The Office.» According to some media reports, this organization was directly linked to Karimova.