A criminal case has been opened against the management of Imarat Development in Tashkent following buyer complaints. What is known?

Following buyers' complaints in Tashkent, a criminal case has been opened against the management of Imarat Development. What is known?

The Tashkent City Main Department of Internal Affairs reported that a criminal case was initiated after receiving applications from citizens who expressed distrust in the activities of the Imarat Development construction company and asked to take legal measures against its leadership.

According to the Tashkent City Main Department of Internal Affairs, although the office of Imarat Development is located on Buyuk Avlod Street in the Sergeli district of the capital, the multi-story buildings that the company planned to build are located in the Quyi Chirchiq district of the Tashkent region.

Because the residential complexes were located outside the territory of the capital, some buyers expressed dissatisfaction and demanded that the company's management return the funds paid for the apartments. However, according to the report, the money was not returned.

Following the audit, the Investigation Department under the Tashkent City Main Department of Internal Affairs opened a criminal case under Article 168 (Fraud) and Article 192-11 (Abuse of powers by officials of a non-governmental commercial or other non-governmental organization) of the Criminal Code.

"Investigative actions are taken under the control of the head of the Main Department of Internal Affairs and the prosecutor's office. Based on the results of the investigation, a lawful decision will be ensured," the official statement said.

The statement did not disclose the number of applicants, the estimated amount of damage caused, or the names of the residential complexes from which complaints were received.

Also, no information was provided about who exactly was declared a suspect or charged, or whether a precautionary measure was applied to anyone.

In July 2025, violations were identified in the construction of the Sergeli City residential complex in the Quyi Chirchiq district of the Tashkent region. According to the Inspectorate for Control in the Field of Construction, work on five blocks (A9, A10, A11, D1, and D2) was carried out without the required state registration. In addition, experts identified voids in concrete columns, water accumulation under the foundation, and the absence of a drainage system provided for in the project.

The inspectorate issued an order to eliminate the violations and temporarily suspended the construction of the specified blocks. In response, entrepreneur Marat Hamdamov, who introduced himself as the founder of the project, said that work was not completely stopped, but only temporarily suspended, and that the company was acting within the law.

Kun.uz reported complaints from buyers who bought apartments from projects under the Imarat Development brand about construction delays and the inability to get their money back.

According to the publication, apartments in a number of residential complexes that were supposed to be handed over to buyers back in 2025 have still not been put into operation. Against the backdrop of delays, a dispute arose between the founders of the company, and the name Imarat on the facade of the sales office was changed to Imtiyaz.

One of the buyers, Dilorom Yutayeva, in an interview with Kun.uz, said that on January 6, 2024, she received a contract personally from entrepreneur Marat Hamdamov, known as Marat Khayrullayevich. According to her, she paid 400 million UZS for the apartment.

The housing was supposed to be delivered by October 30, 2025, but this did not happen. Now the woman demands a refund of the paid funds.

Another buyer, Jahongir Muhiddinov, stated that he paid in full for apartments that were supposed to be handed over in December 2025. After the deadlines were missed, he tried to learn about the progress of construction, but, according to him, received no clear answer.

Another client, Dilnoza Toychiboyeva, said she signed a contract in February 2024. After the deadlines were repeatedly pushed back, she decided to terminate the contract and demand a refund.

According to the woman, representatives of the company convinced her to keep waiting, but then the company itself unilaterally terminated the contract, and the apartment she paid for was sold to another buyer.

Marat Hamdamov.

Following the complaints, entrepreneur Marat Hamdamov published video messages announcing that a dispute had arisen with other founders.

He stressed that his partners had excluded him from construction projects, including Sergeli City and Bristol City. Hamdamov also said that there were threats against him and his family, and that he was prevented from entering the office and construction sites.

In turn, Olim Mamatov, who introduced himself as the director of Imarat Development, told Kun.uz that construction and finishing works are continuing in some blocks, and the delivery of residential complexes is planned to be carried out in three stages.

Later, Mamatov told the publication that relations between Hamdamov and other founders had improved and the entrepreneur could return to work on the projects.

In addition, a representative of the company promised to hand over 16 blocks of the Sergeli City residential complex to buyers by January 2027. In total, the project envisages 61 blocks.

There is currently no confirmation that these facilities are actually fully completed.

In September 2025, Kun.uz published an investigation into buyers' claims regarding Imarat Development projects.

At that time, clients said that when the contract was canceled, the company actually withheld a fine of 10-12% not of the invested funds, but of the total value of the apartment. For example, if the apartment price was 400 million UZS and 120 million UZS was paid, the amount to be withheld could be 40-48 million UZS. In response, Marat Hamdamov stressed that withholdings were applied to only some buyers in the final stage of construction. According to him, funds were returned in stages to other clients who canceled the contract.

The publication also reported that the Tashkent regional department of the Competition Promotion Committee considered a complaint from one of the buyers of Sergeli City and instructed to refund the money in full.

In October 2025, it became known that a criminal case was opened against officials of Perfect-Mansions LLC, which built the Tuzel Park residential complex in the Yashnobod district of Tashkent.

According to the Capital Inspectorate for Control in the Field of Construction, work at the facility was carried out without necessary registration with the supervisory authority and without obtaining permitting documents.

At that time, the Tashkent City Prosecutor's Office announced that a criminal case was opened under Article 192-11 of the Criminal Code. Conducting investigative actions was assigned to the Department for Investigation of Especially Serious Crimes of the City Prosecutor's Office.

The Tuzel Park project was previously advertised under the Imarat Development brand and linked to Marat Hamdamov. However, according to registration data, he was not officially listed among the founders or directors of either Imarat Development or Perfect-Mansions LLC.

The current criminal case reported by the Tashkent City Main Department of Internal Affairs was initiated after new applications from buyers. Whether these investigative actions are interconnected has not yet been clarified.

In December 2025, Daryo also published an investigation into complaints from Imarat Development clients about being unable to get the purchased apartments or return the funds invested in them.

Buyers cited the location of the Sergeli City residential complex as one of the reasons for terminating contracts. According to Mansur Dostyorov, when buying an apartment, a manager told him that houses were being built about 5 km from Sergeli. However, after paying 100 million UZS, the man went to the construction site and found that it was located much farther away — in the Sergeli neighborhood within the Tashkent region.

The buyer canceled the contract in February 2024. He was promised a refund within a period of one to six months, but had not received the funds by the time the investigation was published in December 2025.

Another buyer, Roza Qurbonova, said she paid 113 million UZS for an apartment in block 12 of Sergeli City. According to her, move-in was promised in the summer of 2025, but construction of the corresponding block had not even started by December.

Tolqinoy Mamathalilova told Daryo that her family canceled the contract to buy an apartment registered in her son's name, but could not get back 274 million UZS for 10 months. The woman also claimed that she was subjected to pressure from company representatives after public complaints.

Daryo journalists visited the Imarat Development office twice and sent several inquiries. Marat Hamdamov initially promised to resolve the applicants' issues within a week, but later explained the delay in returning funds by employee carelessness.

After the journalists' intervention, Hamdamov's representative informed the editorial office that funds were fully refunded without fines to three out of the initial four applicants. According to him, Mamathalilova's funds remained unreturned due to an ongoing court process.

At the same time, Daryo noted that applications from other buyers continued to arrive. Some citizens said they bought apartments under the influence of advertisements featuring famous bloggers and artists, but later faced construction and refund delays.

Against the background of complaints from buyers purchasing apartments in new buildings in Uzbekistan, the mandatory mechanism of escrow accounts aimed at protecting citizens' funds in shared construction has still not been implemented. In accordance with the presidential decree of January 27, 2025, it was planned to allow settlements through escrow accounts alongside direct payments to developers starting from July 1, 2025, and to fully transition to the new system from January 1, 2026.

However, the planned work did not materialize. In January 2026, the Ministry of Justice explained that the necessary legislative base for the mandatory use of escrow accounts did not yet exist. The Legislative Chamber approved the draft law on shared construction in the first reading only on July 28. As of early November, the law had not been adopted, and the mandatory escrow account system had not been launched.

According to the mechanism, buyers' money is kept in special bank accounts, and the developer gains the right to use it after fulfilling the specified conditions. This should reduce the risk of losing funds if construction is not completed.

Earlier, the Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services Sherzod Hidoyatov stated that the new procedure would apply only to new projects, and construction started under previous rules would not be affected.