Statement by Central Asia Due Diligence and Uzbek Forum for Human Rights

23 April, 2025

This statement concerns the recovery of assets by Belgium that originated from bribes allegedly extorted by Gulnara Karimova, daughter of the former President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, from telecommunications companies operating in the country. In March 2025, a Brussels court ordered the confiscation of $216 million held in accounts at the local branch of the Bank of New York Mellon. Subsequently, Belgium’s Central Agency for Seizure and Confiscation allocated half of this amount to the Belgian treasury and transferred the other half to the government of Uzbekistan – directly and without any safeguards or conditions to prevent potential misuse. In our view, this decision violates Chapter V of the UN Convention Against Corruption, as well as the principles of responsible and accountable asset return endorsed by the 2017 Global Forum on Asset Recovery. Through this statement, we urge the Belgian authorities to ensure that not half, but the full amount of confiscated assets is returned to Uzbekistan in a manner that guarantees the funds are used transparently and in the best interests of the Uzbek people, the true victims of corruption.