Uzbek Police Detain Four for Illegal Cryptocurrency Trading

Law enforcement authorities in Uzbekistan's Navoi region have uncovered illegal cryptocurrency operations amounting to UZS 104 billion (approximately $8.62 million at the official exchange rate), according to the Cybersecurity Center under the Interior Ministry''s Operational-Investigative Department.

As part of the “Safe Cyberspace” and “Relevant 20 Days” campaigns, officers from the Operational-Investigative Department of the Interior Ministry, the Cybersecurity Center, the State Security Service, and the National Agency for Advanced Projects jointly identified a group engaged in generating income from illegal cryptocurrency transactions, The Caspian Post reports, citing Uzbek media.

Four citizens born in 1990, 1993, 1998, and 1999 were detained.

According to the Cybersecurity Center, the suspects linked other people’s bank cards to the One Payments and P2P Trade applications, through which they exchanged cryptocurrency worth UZS 104 billion and earned “significant profits.”

During the investigation, officers seized 68 bank cards, 12 mobile devices, 8 SIM cards, and 2 computers. A preliminary inquiry is currently underway.

In September, a similar group involved in illegal cryptocurrency trading was detained in Tashkent. Investigators said the group had conducted transactions worth more than UZS 180 billion over eight months.