Serious Fraud Office issues claim for civil recovery against two individuals

The Serious Fraud Office took action under the Proceeds of Crime Act of 2002 to recover allegedly ill-gotten gains from corrupt telecom deals in Uzbekistan held by Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of Uzbekistan’s former president, and Rustam Madumarov, a close associate.  Karimova’s assets in the US were frozen in December 2017 pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.  In 2016, VimpelCom settled bribery charges with US and Dutch authorities, paying nearly $400 million in penalties for bribing Uzbek authorities, including Karimova.  In 2017, Telia Company AB paid $965 million to settle charges with US, Dutch, and Swedish authorities, also for bribes paid in Uzbekistan, some of them allegedly involving Karimova.