A major tax fraud scheme was exposed in the city of Chirchiq during an operational event conducted by officers of the State Security Service and the Department for Combating Economic Crimes.

According to the investigation, a previously convicted employee of an LLC operating in the Tashkent region gained the trust of the manager of a private enterprise in the Navoi region and proposed to recover VAT funds from the budget through forged documents.

He promised to draw up fake documents regarding an alleged goods turnover of 20 billion UZS for 2025–2026 and to secure the refund of 2 billion UZS in VAT through acquaintances in tax authorities. For this "service," he demanded 340 million UZS.

According to the scheme, an individual entrepreneur living in the city of Andijan was involved as an accomplice. He drafted electronic contracts between familiar enterprises and prepared 10 fake electronic invoices regarding allegedly performed construction and installation works, transport services, and supplied construction materials worth 18 billion 670 million UZS. In this way, the refund of 2 billion UZS in VAT was achieved.

Later, during the process of receiving the requested funds, their criminal accomplices—a previously convicted person born in 1973 and residing in the Kibray district, and a previously convicted citizen born in 1996 and residing in the city of Andijan—were caught red-handed while receiving the money. It was revealed that the 340 million UZS was planned to be distributed among the criminal group.

A criminal case has been initiated against these four individuals under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code. Investigative actions are currently ongoing. Additionally, further inquiries are being conducted to identify any employees of the tax authorities involved in this scheme.