Switzerland’s Office of the Attorney General has frozen hundreds of millions of francs in a money laundering case opened against Uzbek citizens.

	Gulnara Karimova with her confidante Gayane Avakiyan who might be implicated in the criminal case

20.09.12 05:35

Switzerland freezes funds with Uzbek links

Switzerland’s Office of the Attorney General has frozen hundreds of millions of francs in a money laundering case opened against Uzbek citizens.

The Office of the Attorney General said that the millions frozen in the case brought against four Uzbek citizens were in various Swiss banks.

In response to Uznews.net’s query, the office said that it did not provide information on the precise sum of the funds.

However, it confirmed the detention of two Uzbek citizens in Geneva on 30 July and said they were still in custody.

It did not disclose the names of the two other suspects or their whereabouts and whether they had been listed on the international wanted list.

According to media reports, two managers of the Coca-Cola Uzbekistan company, linked to President Islam Karimov’s elder daughter Gulnara, were detained in Switzerland. The detainees, Shohruh Sobirov and Alisher Ergashev, have been reported to be involved in managing Gulnara’s money in Switzerland.

Their detention prompted a rare protest outside the Swiss embassy in Tashkent on 4 and 6 August when the authorities permitted a group of well-off and irreligious women to demand the Alpine country ensure rights of Uzbek Muslims.

The Swiss franc exchange rate stood at $1.076 today.

Uznews.net

 

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