Swiss prosecutors won a victory in a corruption probe connected to the daughter of the former leader of Uzbekistan.
Balz Bruppacher, senior contributor finews.com
It is likely Switzerland’s most complex case of recovering dictator loot thus far: 49-year-old Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of deceased Uzbeki leader Islam Karimov, stands accused of taking more than $1 billion in bribes for mobile phone licenses from telecommunications firms Vimpelcom, Telia, and MTS.
More than 800 million Swiss francs ($873 million) in the case have been blocked since 2012, mainly at Geneva’s Lombard Odier. Karimova, who enjoyed diplomat status in Switzerland for a time but fell out of favor with her family in 2013, is currently imprisoned in Uzbekistan and seldom heard from publicly.
Wider Scope of Funds
Swiss officials informed the prosecutor over a secret government decision to return all Swiss-held assets to Uzbekistan if the legal push to recoup assets held up in court. This was initially the case for 130 million francs but has now been widened to 340 million francs, according to a Swiss criminal court decision handed down on October 8 and released this week.
Another 210 million francs are poised for a return to Uzbekistan after a personal employee of Karimova’s was convicted in an expedited proceeding in 2018 and a Swiss court vetted the decision last year, the Swiss prosecutor confirmed to finews.com.
Asset Freeze Upheld
The funds were held in mailbox firms in the British Virgin Islands with offshore accounts in Geneva and Zurich, finews.com has learned. Bekhzod Akhmedov, the former head of MTS in Uzbekistan who is now wanted by Interpol, tried and failed to tap the funds.
The Swiss criminal court decision upholds the asset freeze, after previously dismissing a complaint lodged by Akhmedov against Gulnara Karimova which also aimed to release the money.
Show Of Reform Will
The 47-year-old Akhmedov was once a close associate of Karimova, playing something of a financial chief role in her network. Now living in Russia, Akhmedov is due for questioning by Swiss officials shortly.
Switzerland’s highest criminal court is due to rule on an appeal by Karimova against the blocking of 350 million francs linked to a Gibraltar mailbox firm, Takilant. For Uzbekistan, where President Shavkat Mirziyoyev recently won reelection in a landslide, recovery of the Swiss assets now hinges on an agreement over their return.
Switzerland and Uzbekistan, which clinched a pact late last year meant to safeguard the restitution from renewed corruption, are currently hammering out the specifics. This is seen as key for Mirziyoyev to showcase his reform will. The telecom firms previously settled with officials in the U.S., the Netherlands, and Sweden with penalties totaling $2.6 billion.
