Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Switzerland to return millions in laundered funds to Uzbekistan

A man handles bank notes in CHF1000 denomination at the Zurich cantonal bank.
The person who was convicted in the case has also been slapped with a fine of CHF390,000. Keystone / Martin Ruetschi

The Office of the Attorney General said on Monday it would return CHF130 million ($133 million) after securing a conviction in its six-year investigation into allegations of money laundering involving the eldest daughter of the former Uzbek president, Islam Karimov.

A relative of Gulnara Karimova has been convicted by a Swiss federal court for taking part in a scheme to illicitly take money from companies interested in doing business in Uzbekistan and laundering the money abroad, primarily in Switzerland, the OAG saidExternal link.

The offender, who was active between 2004 and 2013 and is now serving a prison sentence in Uzbekistan, has been ordered to pay a fine of CHF390,000 and forfeit CHF130 million, to be returned to the former Soviet republic.

The OAG began its investigation in 2012 into suspicious activities by Karimova’s personal assistant and the general manager of the Uzbek subsidiary of a Russian telecom company, but later extended it to include two of Karimova’s employees, her relative and Karimova herself. The former president’s daughter had her diplomatic immunity, which she held thanks to her role as a permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, lifted by the courts in 2013.

The 46-year-old Karimova is currently serving a commuted five-year sentence in her native country for fraud, embezzlement and concealment of foreign funds. She claimed in an Instagram post on Sunday to have transferred over €1 billion (CHF1.1 billion) to the state in order “to serve the interests of the republic’s budget”.  Her Swiss lawyer confirmed the message was authentic but would not comment on its content.

The OAG investigation has led to criminal proceedings against telecommunications companies being opened abroad, with convictions secured in the United States, the Netherlands and Sweden. In Switzerland, five suspects remain under investigation and more than CHF650 million of assets frozen. However, the OAG would not disclose further information on the ongoing investigation.

More

More

Why dirty money still plagues Switzerland

This content was published on Known as the law on the freezing and restitution of illicitly acquired assets of foreign politically exposed persons, the new regulation aims to prove to the world that Switzerland is no longer the banker of choice for foreign despots.  The list of despots whose assets have tarnished the reputation of Switzerland and its banks has…

Read more: Why dirty money still plagues Switzerland

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Switzerland gets a new tectonic map

More

Switzerland gets a new tectonic map

This content was published on Switzerland has a new tectonic map at a scale of 1:500,000, containing updates to geometry, distribution and nomenclature of the tectonic units.

Read more: Switzerland gets a new tectonic map

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR