TASHKENT - Law enforcement agencies in Uzbekistan have uncovered a corruption scheme involving sending citizens to work in South Korea. According to investigators, the criminal group included former employees of the Agency for External Labor Migration of Uzbekistan, representatives of private employment agencies, and others, Daryo.uz reports.
According to the Prosecutor General's Office, the participants in the scheme received $263,500 from 35 citizens, promising employment abroad. A criminal case has been opened, and an investigation is underway.
The investigation established that, in addition to official payments, citizens were charged between $7,000 and $12,000 for exit visa processing. According to preliminary estimates, the illegal income from these transactions could have reached tens of millions of dollars.
Claims from more than 600 citizens who contributed money but were never sent to work are also being investigated. Authorities are assessing the damages and taking steps to compensate them.
According to the case file, the defendants received an additional $580,000 by promising to send 230 people to South Korea, and also illegally collected $5.6 million from more than a thousand citizens who had already left for work.
The Prosecutor General's Office called on all victims of this group's actions to contact the department's hotline to provide information and participate in the investigation.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
May 14, 2026