Over 400 delegates from 18 countries met in Samarkand as Uzbekistan’s Central Bank detailed a two-tier sharia supervisory structure and vowed to learn from missteps in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Central Bank Governor Timur Ishmetov told the Samarkand Islamic Finance Forum that Uzbekistan is moving from building legal frameworks to active implementation, backed by a 2026–2030 roadmap with 39 measures, a new Islamic banking law, a five-member Sharia council and a planned sukuk chapter in capital market legislation.
IMAN Invest has acknowledged using investor funds to cover management costs, breaching reserve limits by up to 50 percent, and buying a $128,000 car for its founder — while contesting the $20 million shortfall figure cited by its former Sharia adviser.
Uzbekistan’s IMAN Invest faces allegations of a multimillion-dollar investor shortfall after its private sharia advisory board cut ties, publishing documents it says show investor funds were used for luxury cars and operating costs. The company’s founder denies the core claims and has commissioned a new independent audit.
