Head of Migration and citizenship department was arrested for issuing Uzbek passports to foreigners

The head of the Migration and Citizenship Department in the Yakkasaroy district of Tashkent city has been sentenced to seven years in prison for unlawfully facilitating the citizenship of Uzbekistan to foreign nationals, according to a report by QALAMPIR.UZ.

The report states that Z.A., along with the head of LLC D.Sh. and nine foreign citizens, issued ID cards and biometric passports of the Republic of Uzbekistan to foreign nationals. The criminal partners charged between $4,000 and $15,000 per transaction and shared the proceeds among themselves.

Specifically, in November 2022, Z.A. unlawfully issued an ID card and a "red passport" to a Russian citizen, K.D. He abused his official authority by accessing the "Passport-Visa" system using an "E-key" assigned to him, creating a fake electronic document to transfer the identity of another citizen’s passport to K.D. K.D. then falsely claimed to have lost his civil passport and applied for a new ID card, which was subsequently issued, along with a biometric passport for international travel.

Additionally, Z.A. manipulated the Ministry of Internal Affairs' "Manzil" system to falsely register K.D. as a permanent resident of Tashkent, despite the absence of any supporting documentation.

Z.A., with his accomplice, similarly issued ID cards and biometric passports for international travel to citizens of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

Even after being dismissed from his position as the head of the Department of Migration and Citizenship, Z.A. continued to conduct some of these activities using electronic systems, retaining unauthorized access to the "E-key" assigned to him by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.