The Department for Combating Economic Crimes under the General Prosecutor's Office of Uzbekistan has uncovered a large-scale corruption scheme related to sending citizens to work in South Korea. The organized criminal group included former officials of the External Labor Migration Agency and private employment agencies.

According to preliminary data, the group promised to send 35 citizens to work in South Korea and collected a total of $263,500 from them. Additionally, approximately $90 million was fraudulently collected, ranging from $7,000 to $12,000 per person.

The investigation revealed that the group received $580,000 for sending 230 citizens to South Korea and illegally collected $5.6 million from a thousand citizens already sent. The total amount of illegal funds reached $45 million.

Currently, complaints from over 600 citizens who have not been sent to South Korea are being reviewed. Investigative authorities are taking measures to determine the amount of damage and recover the funds.

A criminal case has been initiated, and investigative actions are ongoing. The department urged affected citizens to contact the hotline at 71 233 10 07, assuring confidentiality.

Earlier, a chief specialist of the Namangan branch of the Migration Agency was detained while receiving $41,000 for sending citizens to South Korea. It was found that agency employees in 2024 received over $700,000 for sending more than 80 citizens.

Source: www.gazeta.uz