Uzbek Prosecutor General's Office initiates criminal case against Gulnara Karimova

Tashkent, Aug.20, 2019. /Kabar/. The Prosecutor General's Office of Uzbekistan has instituted criminal proceedings against Gulnara Karimova for the theft of state funds and the conclusion of transactions contrary to the interests of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as for taking possession of property of others on a particularly large scale through extortion, the press service of the Uzbek Prosecutor General’s Office said.
The criminal case was initiated on the basis of verification materials collected on the basis of information, received from an international company, as well as citizens' statements.
"It has been established that Karimova in collusion with other persons has purchased undervalued state owned stakes in Kuvasaycement JSC and Bekabadcement JSC," the statement reads.
Then, Gulnara Karimova sold the abovementioned blocks of shares to foreign entrepreneurs and patronized their subsequent illegal activities, which caused damage to the interests of the republic on a large scale.
In addition, she has forced citizens and owners of various companies to hand over their property to her own companies under threat of violence.
In order to prevent attempts to prevent the establishment of the truth in the case, the other details are not disclosed. The investigation of criminal cases continues.
In July 2017, the Prosecutor General's Office of Uzbekistan reported that Gulnara Karimova was sentenced to five years' imprisonment in August 2015. The total amount of damage caused to the interests of the state and citizens in two criminal cases was estimated at UZB 3.7 trillion.
Gulnara Karimova is the elder daughter of Islam Karimov, the leader of Uzbekistan from 1989 to his death in 2016. Karimova is the founder of the Forum of Culture and Arts of Uzbekistan Foundation and chairperson of its Board of Trustees; she is also the head of a number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) focused on cultural and social aspects of life in Uzbekistan. According to political observers, Gulnara Karimova was widely considered to be in line to succeed her father as President of Uzbekistan, however, after 2013, Gulnara had conflict with her father, and she began to rapidly lose influence in Uzbekistan.