Customs gaps and missing cars: Kun.uz investigates

On August 16, 2024, at 10:00 AM, an individual named Akbar Mamajonov crossed the “Yallama” border post into Kazakhstan driving a Cobalt car that belonged to someone else. Not only was he unauthorized to operate the vehicle, but after crossing the border, the car mysteriously vanished. Kun.uz’s investigation uncovered that nearly 50 vehicles had been similarly taken out of Uzbekistan “under the watch of customs officials.” The exposé highlights vulnerabilities within Uzbekistan's customs system, where even stolen cars can reportedly be easily smuggled across borders.

Around 50 cars of various brands, mostly bought on installment plans in Uzbekistan, have reportedly been smuggled into Kazakhstan. Some of these vehicles were driven across the border by individuals with no legal right to operate them. Kun.uz stumbled upon these revelations while investigating a complaint.

The case of the missing Cobalt

A resident of Tashkent, I.X., reached out to the publication, stating that he was defrauded after selling his Cobalt car on an installment basis. In August 2024, he sold the car to Abdulla Abdurasulov, who initially paid $3,000 upfront and agreed to pay the remaining balance in 25 monthly installments of $600 each.

“One month later, Abdulla stopped making payments, and I couldn’t reach him as his phone was turned off. We started communicating through Telegram, where he told me that my car had been taken to Kazakhstan and that he too had been tricked by others. He kept giving me various excuses. I had handed over the car to Abdulla through a notarized authorization,” explained the Cobalt’s original owner.

On August 15, 2024, I.X. sold his car to Abdulla Abdurasulov. The very next day, at 10:00 AM, the same car crossed the “Yallama” border post, driven by Akbar Mamajonov. Abdulla, through the authorization, had legal control over the car, but Mamajonov did not possess the right to operate it. Once it crossed the border, the car disappeared without a trace.

A wanted "buyer"

After I.X.'s car went missing, he began demanding that Abdulla Abdurasulov return it. The reason was that the buyer had failed to make the agreed monthly payments under their arrangement.

Since the owner's efforts proved unsuccessful, he went in search of Abdulla at his residence in the Gani Azamov neighborhood of the Olmazor district in Tashkent.

“I went to shops in the area and asked about Abdulla. When I showed his picture, people told me many others were also looking for him. They said he had swindled many people by taking their cars and selling them in Kazakhstan. That’s when I realized I’d been scammed. Later, I managed to find other victims who had been tricked by Abdulla in the same way,” said I.X.

Following this discovery, I.X. reported the incident to law enforcement agencies. He even traveled to Kazakhstan in search of his car, but the efforts yielded no results.

“We planned to use the cars for Yandex taxis”

Kun.uz obtained a video statement where Abdulla Abdurasulov admitted to transporting nearly 50 cars to Kazakhstan. He claimed his intention was to use the vehicles for taxi services but ended up being duped by his Kazakh partners.

“In early April, I spoke to a person I knew named Inom, who’s from Shymkent. He suggested that I send cars from Uzbekistan so we could use them for Yandex taxis. We struck a deal, and I began sending rental cars to him. After sending about 30 cars, Inom introduced me to someone named Malik, saying I should work with him instead. I sent the remaining cars to Malik. Altogether, I sent around 50 cars,” Abdulla confessed in the video.

“But then payments stopped coming from Kazakhstan. One day, I got a call saying one of the cars had been detained by Uzbek customs because it had Kazakh plates. That’s when I realized all the cars had been sold off with forged documents and fake Kazakh license plates. I demanded the cars be returned, but Malik and Inom made excuses and didn’t comply,” he added.

“Pay up, and you’ll get your car back”

After I.X.’s Cobalt vanished, Abdulla offered to retrieve it in exchange for a sum of money. Kun.uz obtained several audio recordings of such conversations.

“Man, I’ve already made arrangements to retrieve your car. But the person handling this won’t do it for free. Another guy paid $650 and got his car back after adding another $150 in person. I’m trying my best, but I’m short on resources. If you send 300,000 tenge, your car will definitely be brought back,” Abdulla said in one of the recordings.

In another conversation, Abdulla stated that Kazakh contacts had agreed to find the car for 150,000 tenge and would return the keys upon receiving the rest of the payment.

A GPS saves a Lacetti

One of the cars smuggled into Kazakhstan through Abdulla Abdurasulov, a black Lacetti, was subsequently recovered. The vehicle’s owners found it in Kazakhstan, hidden at a site with its license plates removed. The recovery was made possible by the GPS system installed in the car.

In a video shared by Kun.uz, the vehicle owners, assisted by Kazakhstan’s law enforcement officers, visited the hiding spot and successfully found the car. The officers verified the vehicle’s chassis number against the registration documents, confirming they matched.

The car was then retrieved from its hidden location and returned to its rightful owner.

Ongoing investigation

A criminal case has been initiated in connection with this incident by the Chirchiq city department of internal affairs in the Tashkent region. This can also be seen in letters sent by the Chirchiq city department to the Ministry of Justice and the Customs Committee on September 18, 2024.

In particular, in the letter sent to the Ministry of Justice, the department requested information regarding the powers of attorney issued in the name of Abdulla Abdurasulov for the management of vehicles.

In the letter sent to the Customs Committee, information was requested about the types of vehicles and their registration numbers that Abdulla Abdurasulov had taken across Uzbekistan’s border posts from July 10 to September 18, 2024, and the foreign countries they had been taken to.

Where is the "buyer"?

A criminal case has been initiated under Article 168, Part 4, Clause "a" of the Criminal Code (fraud involving a large amount). In this case, a preventive measure of arrest may be applied to the suspect.

However, according to the complainant, Abdulla Abdurasulov is still at large, and they are in ongoing contact with him via Telegram. Abdulla Abdurasulov is also not listed among the wanted individuals.

Kun.uz contacted the investigator from the Chirchiq city department of internal affairs handling the case. The investigator stated that they could not provide any information about the investigation, as it is still ongoing.

Customs or a caravanserai?

The most alarming issue is how unauthorized individuals were allowed to drive cars across the border under the watch of customs officials.

A notary in Tashkent explained to Kun.uz that authorizations can sometimes include clauses allowing cars to be operated abroad, but these are typically issued in Russian. However, if an authorization is issued via Uzbekistan’s e-government portal, it explicitly prohibits taking the vehicle abroad.

In I.X.’s case, the authorization was issued online and did not allow the car to be taken out of the country. Nevertheless, most of the cars Abdulla smuggled to Kazakhstan were driven across the border by unauthorized individuals, suggesting wider systemic issues.

Where are the cars now?

How could dozens of stolen cars cross Uzbekistan’s borders under the nose of customs officials? According to a Customs Committee representative, details such as the car model, license plate, and driver’s ID are recorded in the system when vehicles cross the border. However, customs officers are not authorized to verify whether the driver has legal control of the vehicle.

This loophole means that, as long as the car’s technical documents are in order, it can be easily taken out of Uzbekistan — effectively creating a “green corridor” for stolen vehicles.

Kun.uz is committed to further investigating this matter. If you have encountered a similar issue, please contact us via the @kunuzmurojaat Telegram channel.