Photo: mail.kz
The Yunusabad District Criminal Court in Tashkent has found Farrukh Makhamatov and his mother, Feruza Makhamatova, guilty of defrauding clients of nearly 20 billion Uzbek soums (over $1.5 million), according to Kun.uz.
The Makhamatovs were the owners of two companies—Arkenstone and Vesco Cottage—which promoted the construction of affordable cottages in Tashkent, offering buyers a 20-year installment plan. Advertisements were posted across the capital, encouraging clients to make an initial payment of 125 million soums (around $9,700). The promise of inexpensive housing attracted at least 161 individuals.
As a result, Arkenstone collected 8.6 billion soums (over $660,000), while Vesco Cottage received 11.2 billion soums (over $868,000). The funds were funneled into bank accounts, converted to U.S. dollars, and transferred to e-wallets registered in London under the Makhamatovs' names.
In reality, the companies had no land and no intention of carrying out any construction.
In March of this year, 33-year-old Farrukh Makhamatov was found guilty of fraud and money laundering and sentenced to 12 years and 1 month in a high-security prison. His 52-year-old mother received a sentence of 5 years and 1 month.
The court ruled that part of the stolen funds and crypto assets, totaling about 8.5 billion soums ($659,000), would be used to compensate victims. The remaining amount is to be recovered jointly from the convicted parties.
The General Prosecutor’s Office of Uzbekistan announced the arrest of the Arkenstone and Vesco Cottage owners in January 2024. At that time, crypto assets worth more than $600,000 linked to the Makhamatovs' activities were repatriated to Uzbekistan.
👉 Farrukh Makhamatov had previously been convicted multiple times for fraud. In 2020 alone, he received separate sentences from three different courts: 5 years in April from the Almazar District Court, 7 years and 6 months in July from the Karshi City Court, and 7 years and 8 months in November from the Yunusabad District Court.
On March 14, 2022, the Almalyk City Court commuted an unserved sentence of 5 years, 1 month, and 8 days to corrective labor with a 20% wage deduction to the state. Less than a month later, on April 4, the Makhamatovs registered Arkenstone, and a year later, they established Vesco Cottage.
