The Central Asia Due Diligence and Uzbek Forum for Human Rights recently published a statement regarding the Gulnara Karimova case in Belgium. The statement addresses Belgium’s recovering assets that came from bribery purportedly demanded from Uzbek telecom companies by Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of former President Islam Karimov. A court in Brussels ordered the forfeiture of $216 million in accounts held at the local Bank of New York Mellon branch in March 2025. Half of this sum was then given to the Belgian treasury by Belgium’s Central Agency for Seizure and Confiscation, and the other half was given straight to the Uzbek government without any restrictions or safeguards to stop any abuse. We believe that this decision violates both Chapter V of the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the 2017 Global Forum on Asset Recovery’s principles of transparent and accountable asset return.
The full statement can be accessed here:https://cenasiaduediligence.uk/belgiums-return-of-assets-to-uzbekistan-fails-to-meet-international-standards-and-increases-risk-of-future-misuse/
The African stands with Central Asia Due Diligence and Uzbek Forum for Human Rights and calls on the Belgian government to make sure that the entire amount of assets that have been seized—not just half—are given back to Uzbekistan in a way that ensures the money is spent openly and in the best interests of the Uzbek people, who are the real victims of corruption.
