The Competition Development and Consumer Rights Protection Committee of Uzbekistan has initiated a case regarding a potential violation of antimonopoly legislation within the tender for the purchase of 475 sets of seismic sensors, with an initial value of 5.7 billion UZS.
According to the committee, the inspection was launched after an article titled 'One Address, One History, and a Multi-Billion Tender' was published on social media.
Data from the committee indicates that the Republican Center for Seismic Forecasting Monitoring under the Ministry of Emergency Situations announced the tender for the purchase of seismic sensors on August 4, 2026.
During the analysis, the committee found signs of non-compliance with Article 29 of the Law of Uzbekistan on Competition by the Republican Center for Seismic Forecasting Monitoring, Drilltechpro LLC, and Edulab LLC. The committee believes that the actions of the procurement participants may have restricted or led to the restriction of competition.
Based on these findings, the committee has officially opened a case against the Republican Center for Seismic Forecasting Monitoring, Drilltechpro LLC, and Edulab LLC. The committee specified that additional information will be disclosed after the case review is completed.
The Department for Combating Economic Crimes under the Prosecutor General's Office of Uzbekistan reported the discovery of a large-scale tax evasion scheme. It is assumed that the leaders of six companies and employees of tax authorities are involved in this scheme. Consequently, a criminal case has been initiated, and the investigation is ongoing.
The Department specified that the violations were found during a preliminary investigative request conducted jointly with the Tax Committee.
According to investigators, the leaders of six enterprises illegally received VAT refunds totaling 32.6 billion soums from the state budget. Furthermore, they sold goods worth 195.9 billion soums in cash, without reflecting these transactions in banking documentation.
Law enforcement agencies estimate that the companies intentionally evaded taxes amounting to 42.5 billion soums.
During the inspection, alleged violations involving officials of the Tashkent region Tax Department were also identified. Investigators established that when conducting tax audits, these officials prepared audit reports without assessing additional taxes totaling 5.2 billion soums, which, according to the Department, caused particularly large damage to the state.
The criminal investigation is currently continuing.
The Department for Combating Economic Crimes under the Prosecutor General's Office of Uzbekistan has discovered embezzlement of state funds related to the installation and maintenance of natural gas metering devices. Consequently, a criminal case has been initiated, and investigative actions are underway.
Preliminary investigations revealed that employees of the companies Hududgazta'minot and Texnopark organized a scheme based on fictitious servicing of gas meters. According to law enforcement agencies, this scheme resulted in the misappropriation of 19 billion soums from state funds.
Investigators also established cases of understated readings on 273 gas meters manufactured by Texnopark, which were installed for consumers by employees of Hududgazta'minot. The preliminary damage from these actions is estimated at 861.1 million soums.
A criminal case has been opened for all identified incidents, and law enforcement agencies are continuing the investigation.
Previously, during a presidential meeting on priority tasks in the fuel and energy sector, it was noted that several regions continue to face problems with data transmission from 'smart' electricity and natural gas meters. As a result, unpaid debts continue to grow.
According to information presented at the meeting, more than four years after the launch of automated systems for electricity and gas metering in Uzbekistan (ASKUE and ASKUG), approximately 300,000 gas and 234,000 electricity meters still do not transmit data.
