Apartment deals in Tashkent: An investigation has begun against a brokerage firm involved in the sale of new properties.

One of the victims, Madalibek Hakimov, shared that on February 8, 2024, he signed a purchase agreement with "Credit House" and made an initial payment of 100 million sums. He continued to make all subsequent payments on time, according to the schedule. However, when he visited the site to check on the construction progress, he learned from the construction company's manager about a conflict with the intermediary, who, it turned out, had not transferred the funds to the developer, violating the investment agreement.

"We just want our money to be handed over to the construction company. We don't need anything else, but we no longer trust these firms," Hakimov noted.

Representatives of "Credit House" assure buyers that the issue will be resolved, but the victims no longer believe the promises, as their funds have not reached the developer.

Among the victims is a resident of Zarafshan in the Navoi region, who stated that he took out a loan for the initial payment.

"I came from the city of Zarafshan. On July 9, 2024, we signed the contract. For the initial payment, I took a loan of 80 million sums and am currently repaying 4 million monthly. The terms of the contract have been violated. According to the schedule, I was supposed to pay 3 million 531 thousand sums over 129 months.

Now the construction company says that the house will be completed in the fall and the mortgage will be arranged. But in that case, the amount will increase. I have already paid 105 million sums — let them return it, we are tired of all this," said a teacher from Navoi, Abduvali Narziev.

Kun.uz received a comment from the head of "Credit House," Klara Tolipova. According to her, the problem arose due to the company's premature entry into the secondary market.

"We indeed rushed to enter the secondary market. If I am not mistaken, we started signing contracts in November. To date, about 100 deals have been made, of which 40 clients are already living in their apartments, as payment for them was made 100%.

The bank was supposed to allocate loans, but for reasons unknown to me, there were delays. We have been conducting calculations for two weeks to resolve this issue.

On January 30, we first learned about the situation. After people began to express their outrage, we were taken to the police department, where we were held as suspects for a day. Our documents and balances were checked. I personally reviewed the accounts — there was no embezzlement. Everything stemmed from the fact that the bank did not allocate the loan, and we hastily entered the secondary market," she explained.

Klara Tolipova also clarified the reasons why the funds were not transferred to the developers. According to her, the customers' complaints are justified; such cases indeed occurred, but they are related to objective reasons.

Tolipova also discussed the financial state of the company:

"According to our calculations, the expected income of 'Credit House' was around 20 million dollars. Every month we receive 3-4 billion sums just from monthly payments. If I allocate 1 billion for repaying 'Credit House's' loan, the remaining 2 billion can cover office rent, taxes, and payments to construction companies," she noted.

The head of LLC "In Fin Stroy Invest," Gayrat Mirkamolov, could not provide a clear answer regarding the situation.

According to open sources, "Credit House," which is engaged in wholesale trading of household goods, was registered in December 2018. 50% of its share belongs to LLC "In Fin Stroy Invest."

"In Fin Stroy Invest" was registered in September 2020, and its 100% share belongs to LLC "Invest Consult System."

Meanwhile, LLC "Invest Consult System" was registered in October 2017, and its sole founder and director is Robiya Galyamova.

How did the scheme work?

As Kun.uz discovered, citizen Shoira Rahimova entered into a contract with the construction company "World Baraka Business" for the acquisition of about 90 apartments with a two-year installment plan. These contracts were arranged in the name of an individual — Shoira Rahimova, and were sold on behalf of LLC "In Fin Stroy Invest" to citizens with a certain markup and a 10-year installment plan.

Buyers made the initial payment and monthly installments to the account of "In Fin Stroy Invest." However, the company did not transfer these funds to the developer.

According to Kun.uz, the issues faced by "Credit House" and "In Fin Stroy Invest" are not limited to the company "World Baraka Business": the scale is much broader, and the number of victims is greater. We are talking about billions of sums. If it is confirmed that the officials of "Credit House" embezzled the buyers' funds, this could become not only the largest real estate fraud but also one of the biggest financial pyramids in Uzbekistan's history.

Kun.uz continues to monitor the situation's development.