The key facts

  • 72-year-old Kh. Yu. extorted $500 thousand from the head of a Bukhara company while posing as an Administration of the President employee
  • He was detained at the moment 10 million soums were transferred to his card
  • The Bukhara City Criminal Court sentenced him to 8 years imprisonment under subparagraph 'a' of part 3 of Article 165 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan

Verdict for extortion

The Bukhara City Criminal Court passed a verdict on 72-year-old Tashkent resident Kh. Yu., accused of extorting money from an entrepreneur. The court found him guilty under subparagraph 'a' of part 3 of Article 165 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan (extortion committed on an especially large scale) and sentenced him to 8 years imprisonment in a general regime colony. This was reported by Kun.uz citing the court document and UzNews.uz.

How the events unfolded

According to the case materials, in October 2025 Kh. Yu. found the phone number of the head of one of the companies in Bukhara via social media, as well as the phone number of its chief accountant, to whom he introduced himself as an Administration of the President employee and asked that the head call him back. He then told the head that a complaint had been filed against the company and stated his intention to personally come to Bukhara.

Visit to Bukhara and demands

Two days later, Kh. Yu. arrived in Bukhara, where he was met by the company's head. According to the defendant, he told his interlocutors that the company had received a $40 million loan, that an inspection had revealed information about non-existent facilities, that the plant was not functioning, and he offered to fix the shortcomings in the documents. According to the investigation, he intimidated the entrepreneur: he said the company faced an inspection over misuse of credit funds and the loss of all its property, and, according to UzNews.uz, that certain individuals wanted to eliminate the current owners and take over the enterprise. For his help, he demanded $500 thousand, and, according to UzNews.uz, also 1.3 million soums for travel-related expenses.

Detention and position in court

Kh. Yu. was detained by law enforcement at the moment when 10 million soums were transferred to his bank card. According to Kun.uz, in court he did not plead guilty and stated that he had not demanded half a million dollars from the entrepreneur. According to UzNews.uz, he expressed regret over what he had done and asked that his retirement age be taken into account to mitigate the punishment.