"Marble Meat", Hyundai Palisade and homes in "Pyramid Tower". What's going on in the "inner kitchen" of the Migration Agency?

"Marble Meat", Hyundai Palisade and houses in "Pyramid Tower". What is going on in the "inner kitchen" of the Migration Agency?

It was reported that a large-scale investigation has been launched into the labor migration system in Uzbekistan. According to official data, in addition to legal fees, 7-12 thousand dollars were taken from each candidate who wanted to go to Korea, and about 90 million dollars were embezzled.

Soon after, it was revealed that the former head of the Migration Agency's representative office in Korea, Aziz Toshtemirov, was suspected of fraud and put on the international wanted list.

Starting from June 11 of this year, Toshtemirov began publishing "compromising" information about former and current leaders of the Migration Agency through the Telegram channel "Korea 24 Hours". This channel covers daily news about Korea and news about "EPS Topic". The published materials include serious accusations of demanding valuables, exam rigging, fraud, and attempted embezzlement of state funds, correspondence, audio recordings, and a number of official documents and letters.

**Accusations against Behzod Musayev**

Aziz Toshtemirov's main target was the current head of the Migration Agency, Behzod Musayev. The posts related to him focused on correspondence and expensive orders.

According to Toshtemirov, the current head of the agency regularly demanded that he send premium "marble meat", expensive cosmetics, toothpaste, and branded goods. He published a number of screenshots showing these orders.

Another high-profile part of the scandal is the allegations related to the Hyundai Palisade car. According to Toshtemirov, Musayev ordered him to buy an expensive Hyundai Palisade car from Korea with a special sofa inside.

"The demands were getting higher and higher. One day, Musayev said that his back hurt when he sat in the car, and ordered me to send him a Hyundai Palisade with a special sofa for reclining. We searched for the car, found it, but when it came to paying, I was told, "You do it yourself." So, buying a new Hyundai Palisade, tuning it in Korea, installing a special sofa for reclining, and "rastamozhka" costs about $150,000. When I said that I didn't have that much money, he ordered me to write an official letter asking for funds for the representative office. "There is $150,000 in the budget, I will send it to you, you take it out and send me the car," he said. In the end, the knife went to the bone. I had to report it to the Presidential Administration," Toshtemirov wrote on his Telegram channel.

**"This is an order from the Administration"**

According to Toshtemirov, Behzod Musayev gave him orders to conduct EPS tests on many citizens. He noted that Musayev could not say "no", so he outwardly agreed to carry out the orders, but in practice tried to resist them.

"Soon Musayev contacted him and pressured him, saying, "The order comes from the Administration, why are you resisting? If you don't do it, you will neither go to Korea nor stay in Uzbekistan," - Toshtemirov writes. He attached an audio message as evidence.

It is not known whether the voice belongs to Behzod Musayev or not.

**What does the Migration Agency say?**

The Migration Agency, which has remained at the center of discussions, has assessed the accusations made by Aziz Toshtemirov against the system's management and employees as groundless.

According to the agency, the authorized law enforcement agencies are conducting checks and investigations into these cases. All cases will be given a legal assessment based on the results of the checks.

It was also reported that measures will be taken in accordance with the legislation regarding the dissemination of personal information, publication of information that harms honor and dignity, and actions aimed at misleading the public.

**Payments to personal servants from the budget**

Another serious accusation is related to the fact that monthly payments were made to employees who did not actually work at the Migration Agency. According to Toshtemirov, after Behzod Musayev became the head, Atakhanov Nabi Agzamovich and Djabarov Bakhrom Saidakhmedovich were hired as drivers at the Migration Agency in November 2024. It is alleged that one of these employees was paid 44.4 million soums in March, and the other was paid 46.5 million soums.

Shortly after Toshtemirov wrote this information, the Department under the Prosecutor General's Office announced that more than 1 billion soums had been embezzled at the Migration Agency.

A pre-investigation investigation conducted by the Tashkent city department of the department revealed that the Migration Agency's officials had embezzled budget funds by paying 931.6 million soums as wages to agency employees B.D. and N.A. for the period when they were not actually working. In addition, 88.5 million soums were paid to 8 employees during the period when disciplinary measures were applied and the punishment was in effect, contrary to the requirements of the Labor Code.

The Migration Agency has not yet made an official statement on this case.

**Tashtemirov's wealth**

The agency published a response on its official website this week to the accusations made by Aziz Toshtemirov against Behzod Musayev and the organization he leads.

It stated that Toshtemirov purchased 7 real estate properties worth a total of $1.5 million in the names of his relatives during his time at the agency, and questioned where he, as a civil servant, received so much money.

Aziz Toshtemirov worked in various positions in the Migration Agency system from 2020 to 2025, and his monthly salary during this period amounted to 1 billion 833 million soums (or 153 thousand US dollars). Investigations conducted as part of the fight against corruption revealed a significant discrepancy between Toshtemirov's legal income and the value of properties registered in his and his relatives' names, according to open sources.

"During 2023-2025, Aziz Toshtemirov purchased at least 7 large real estate properties in the names of himself and his close relatives. For example, in 2025, not one, but 2 apartments were purchased from the "Piramit Tower" residential complex, one of the most expensive properties in the Yakkasaroy district of Tashkent. One of the apartments was 110 m² and the other was 50 m². In addition, in 2024, a courtyard in the Obod mahalla of the Ulugnor district of Andijan region with a land area of 1,200 m², and in 2023 alone, he registered 4 apartments in the Chilonzor district of Tashkent. The total value of the above-mentioned real estate properties is at least 1 million 500 thousand US dollars (or 19 billion soums)," the agency said in a statement.

It was added that during 2022-2025, the Migration Agency received about a thousand appeals regarding possible violations and biases in the processes of sending workers to Korea. Some of them directly related to the activities of Aziz Toshtemirov.

In response, Toshtemirov made a statement with allegations that the agency's press secretary was paid up to 126 million soums per month, and the chief accountant and head of the personnel department were paid up to 100 million soums per month.

We recall that the name of Aziz Toshtemirov was mentioned in one of Kun.uz's inquiries in 2023. As can be seen from the video footage, he may have entered his acquaintances into the exam instead of others during the selection process of Uzbeks wishing to go to Korea to work.

**Trial on the "Korean case"**

On July 29, the Bektemir District Criminal Court began considering a criminal case related to possible violations of the law in organizing the sending of Uzbek citizens to work in South Korea. In the case, 4 former state officials are being tried under Article 210, Part 3, Subparagraphs "a" and "b" (bribery), Article 243 (laundering of proceeds from criminal activity), as well as Article 301, Part 1 (abuse of power, exceeding the powers of authority or inaction of authority) of the Criminal Code.