According to court data, the criminal group was led by J. Norkulov. He presented himself as a person with close connections to influential individuals, promising appointments to various positions, concluding major contracts with state organizations, allocating land, and resolving court cases.
Members of the group, in turn, found people who believed in such services and connected them with J. Norkulov.
It was established that in 2021, they demanded $25,000 from one of the citizens, promising to appoint him to the position of head of an enterprise in Asaka district. Later, through threats, they forced him to sell his Captiva car and took another $10,000.
Similarly, they told an entrepreneur operating in the railway sector that they would secure a contract worth 280 billion soums through "Uzbekistan Railways" and took a total of $119,500. Afterwards, they offered to sell him a Toyota Land Cruiser 200 at a low price and took $45,000, but neither the contract nor the car was provided.
The criminal group also promised another citizen to allocate land in the New Tashkent area and prepare construction documents, taking $40,000. However, the promised actions were not carried out.
In addition, it was found that $58,400 was taken under the pretext of resolving an issue regarding farm lands in Khorezm region.
During the investigation, it became known that members of the group also obtained various amounts of money at the Qurghontepa district farmers' market by promising entrepreneurs to allocate trading spaces, register shops, and resolve electricity debt issues.
According to the court verdict, J. Norkulov was found guilty of crimes related to fraud, kidnapping, extortion, robbery, vehicle theft, and bribery, and was sentenced to 10 years and 7 months of imprisonment.
Other members of the group, Sh. Mirzaev, M. Zukhridinov, and D. Juraev, were also sentenced to imprisonment ranging from 10 years and 2 months.
Furthermore, the court ruled to recover material damages caused to the victims from the defendants.
The defendants filed an appeal, arguing that the charges were unfounded and requesting a lighter sentence. However, the appellate court upheld the verdict of the first instance court unchanged.
