Daughter of former Uzbek president accused of masterminding crime ring known as 'The Office'
Fortune • • world
Key Points:
- Gulnara Karimova, daughter of former Uzbek President Islam Karimov, is on trial in Switzerland for allegedly running a criminal network called “The Office” that laundered hundreds of millions of dollars of illicit funds through Swiss and foreign accounts.
- Karimova is currently imprisoned in Uzbekistan and has been prevented from attending the trial in Bellinzona, which is scheduled to continue through May 22; her defense lawyer seeks her full acquittal.
- The charges relate to crimes committed between 2005 and 2013 during her father’s presidency, including organizing a criminal group, extortion, and embezzlement, for which she is already serving a 13-year sentence in Uzbekistan.
- Swiss prosecutors also indicted Swiss private bank Lombard Odier and a former employee in November 2024 for allegedly helping conceal proceeds from Karimova’s criminal activities, though the bank denies intentional wrongdoing and plans to contest the claims.
