In the Tashkent region, fraudsters deceived citizens with services for cashing out microloans

In the Tashkent region, law enforcement officers detained a group of fraudsters who promised citizens to cash out money from microloans, but instead embezzled it, successfully deceiving hundreds of people, according to the press service of the Regional Department of Internal Affairs’ Cybersecurity Service.

During the investigation, law enforcement officers discovered that the perpetrators acted on Telegram messenger and Instagram social network under the guise of a “limitlash xizmati” company. Citizens were promised to cash out credit limits issued by microfinance organizations.

For reliability, the fraudsters used a registered legal entity. The criminals conducted fictitious online transactions through trading platforms, however, they did not transfer the money to citizens, but appropriated it. Thus, the criminals managed to steal 1.032 billion soums.

Law enforcement officers initiated a criminal case under Article 168, Part 4, Clause “a” (Fraud in an especially large amount) and detained all suspects. Currently, law enforcement officers are conducting a preliminary investigation and working to recover damages to the victims.

Earlier, it was reported that Uzbeks would not pay for microloans issued by fraudsters. The country plans to strengthen the protection of citizens in the field of cybercrime.