Uzbekistan plans to return from abroad funds taken out of country by daughter of late president Karimov
TASHKENT. June 14 (Interfax) - The Uzbek Prosecutor General's Office is working on returning the assets of Gulnora Karimova, the elder daughter of ex-president Islam Karimov.
"Cooperation with the main foreign partners, who is helping us with that, is taking place from this angle. There are currently no obstacles in this process," Uzbek Prosecutor General's Office press secretary Suraiye Rakhmanova said on Friday.
The ex-president's daughter is serving her term in accordance with the procedures enshrined in the law, she said.
"She is fine. Karimova has unimpeded access to medical assistance," the Prosecutor General's Office press secretary said.
Gulnora Karimova was convicted for extortion and tax evasion in August 2015.
At the end of July 2017, the Uzbek prosecution service reported that another criminal investigation was ongoing against Karimova, and she was taken into custody pending trial. It was reported that she was charged with causing nearly $2 billion in damage in the two criminal cases. Uzbekistan initiated the freezing of over $1.5 billion worth of assets supposedly belonging to the criminal group in 12 countries, including Russia.
In December 2017, the U.S. Department of the Treasury included Gulnora Karimova on the sanctions list in line with the "global Magnitsky Act." According to the Department of the Treasury, Karimova "led a powerful organized crime syndicate, which involved state entities in the expropriation of businesses, monopolized markets, and asked for bribes," as well as engaging in "extortion."