Factory producing fake vodka worth 1.1 billion soums was identified

Authorities have uncovered a factory in the Parkent district of the Tashkent region that produced counterfeit vodka worth 1.1 billion soums, preventing the distribution of these illegal products. This was reported by the Department for Combating Economic Crimes under the General Prosecutor's Office.

The discovery was made during a joint operation by the department’s Division for Combating Corruption and Economic Crimes and the Alcohol and Tobacco Market Regulation Inspectorate on the A373 highway, heading towards Olmalik-Ohangaron in the Tashkent region. The operation found that two Isuzu trucks carrying 25,120 bottles of counterfeit alcohol, produced by "B.G." LLC in Parkent, were en route to individuals selling alcohol products in the Samarkand and Bukhara regions.

Further investigations were carried out at the production workshop of "B.G." LLC and the residence of the company's security guard, A.A. Authorities seized 14,300 fake QR code labels and 14,176 excise stamps packaged in 143 boxes as physical evidence.

According to the Central Bank’s state unitary enterprise "State Mark," the seized excise stamps had been manufactured in 2023, although their sale is currently prohibited.

In addition, it was discovered that officials of "B.G." LLC, along with other individuals, falsified documents claiming the destruction of excise stamps from the previous year. They continued using these stamps to produce alcohol products, evading taxes amounting to 162.5 million soums.

A criminal case has been initiated under relevant articles of the Criminal Code, and an investigation is ongoing.

This case follows a previous incident where authorities blocked the distribution of counterfeit alcohol products worth 2.3 billion soums, also produced at a factory in the Tashkent region.