Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of former Uzbek president Islam Karimov, has been formally charged in Switzerland in connection with a wide-ranging corruption and money-laundering case.

Swiss prosecutors confirmed that Karimova has been indicted by the Swiss Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Confederation and is being tried alongside a former executive of the Uzbek branch of a Russian telecommunications firm. The case has been submitted to the Federal Criminal Court.

According to Swiss authorities, the alleged criminal conduct spans the years 2005 to 2013 and includes participation in a criminal organisation, money laundering, bribery of foreign public officials, and falsification of financial instruments. Prosecutors claim that Karimova created and led a structured criminal network known internally as “The Office.”

Investigators say this organisation operated from at least 2001 until 2013, involving dozens of individuals and numerous corporate entities. Prosecutors allege that foreign companies seeking access to Uzbekistan’s lucrative telecommunications market were required to pay bribes to companies linked to “The Office” in order to secure Karimova’s approval.

Swiss authorities further allege that from 2005 onward, the group channelled its activities through Switzerland, where illicit proceeds were hidden in bank accounts, safes, and property investments. Prosecutors claim the accounts were held in the names of so-called “straw men,” masking the fact that Karimova was the true beneficiary.

Assets uncovered during the investigation are estimated to be worth around 780 million Swiss francs, equivalent to roughly €806 million. The Swiss prosecutor describes Karimova as the “ultimate leader” of the organisation. Her co-defendant has not yet been publicly identified.

The Swiss investigation dates back to 2012, when authorities first opened a criminal case involving Karimova’s personal assistant. Between 2012 and 2014, the probe expanded to include Karimova herself and several associates, once her diplomatic immunity linked to her role at the United Nations in Geneva was lifted.

This is not Karimova’s first conviction. In 2020, she was sentenced in Uzbekistan to more than 13 years in prison for extortion and embezzlement, while already serving time for fraud, money laundering, and allegedly breaching the conditions of her house arrest.

Her father, Islam Karimov, ruled Uzbekistan until his death in 2016 and was widely known for maintaining a rigid, authoritarian system of governance rooted in Soviet-style centralised control.