Uzbekistan and Switzerland signed an agreement between Uzbekistan's Minister of Justice, Akbar Tashkulov, and the Swiss Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Konstantin Obolensky on February 6, to return approximately $182mn to Uzbekistan, seized from Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of Uzbekistan’s first president.
The funds were originally confiscated by the Swiss Prosecutor General's Office in 2012 as part of a criminal investigation into Karimova's financial activities. This latest return is part of ongoing efforts to return illicit assets to Uzbekistan and follows the signing of a previous agreement in August 2022.
Under that agreement, an initial sum of $131mn was returned to the country. With the new agreement, the total funds returned to Uzbekistan will now amount to $313mn.
The funds will be transferred through the United Nations' "Uzbekistan Vision 2030 Fund" Multi-Partnership Trust Fund, which was established in 2022 to ensure that the returned assets are used for the benefit of the Uzbek population. The primary focus of the fund is to support social projects in Uzbekistan, particularly in the healthcare and education sectors.
The agreement also marks a milestone in Uzbekistan and Switzerland’s cooperation, with both parties working together to align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined by the UN. The Uzbekistan Vision 2030 Fund is managed jointly by representatives of both countries, ensuring that the returned funds are directed toward projects that will have a lasting positive impact on the nation's development.
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