Underground call center uncovered in Tashkent: 23 foreigners, 80 phones and crypto turnover of 329.6 million soums

How the underground call center was uncovered

A call center engaged in fraud against clients has been uncovered in one of the houses in the Yakkasaray district of Tashkent. This was reported by the press service of the capital's city police department (GUVD) (the department's statement was published on its Telegram channel). The inspection was prompted by an incident: a law enforcement officer examining houses noticed a man leaving an unoccupied dwelling. When the officer began questioning him about changing the housing status, the man offered a bribe of $1,000. The officer refused the money.

What was found during the inspection

During the inspection of the house, conducted in the presence of witnesses, it turned out that each room held 4–5 people — 23 foreign citizens living there illegally in total. During an operation carried out by the Cybercrime Combat Department of the Tashkent GUVD, 80 mobile phones, 21 laptops, 6 Wi-Fi routers and 22 passports were seized.

Crypto assets and criminal case

The operation also exposed a group's activities involving crypto assets: three foreigners, without the appropriate license, systematically bought and sold crypto assets through online exchanges. Their turnover amounted to 27,910.21 USDT — about 329.6 million soums. A criminal case has been opened under Part 2 of Article 278-8 of the Criminal Code, and the investigation is ongoing. The GUVD noted: “If operational measures had not been taken in time, it is unknown how many more people this underground center could have drawn into its fraudulent schemes.”

Not the first such case in the capital

This is already the second major exposure of this kind in Tashkent in 2026. In July, the city shut down the operations of two large secret call centers, whose representatives deceived foreign citizens under the pretext of high-yield investments and crypto projects. According to Daryo.uz, at that time the detained cyber fraudsters called residents of Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands and Denmark from spoofed numbers, posing as traders, promised returns of up to 70% per month and stole money through phishing links disguised as crypto asset investments. The new case differs in that the group operated within the country, and the trail led law enforcement to the dwelling by chance — through an attempted bribe.