Uzbekistan

With a population exceeding 38 million people, Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked state located in Central Asia and currently undergoing an important period of economic transformation. By implementing sweeping economic reforms under President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the country moved from traditional economic isolation to an open economy. Uzbekistan benefits from large natural resources in gold and gas deposits, and it enjoys robust GDP growth supported by high domestic consumption and foreign direct investments. Legal changes include the adoption of a key law that creates a legal environment for Islamic banking, as well as a comprehensive simplification of the system of business licenses online.

Yet, in terms of the governance sector, the development of the institutional framework within the country faces significant obstacles due to systemic problems. The government was confirmed through a constitutional referendum and the next set of elections; however, international analysts observe a lack of progress in the area of liberal political reforms and democratization. In terms of administration, the government is dealing with a shortage of skilled personnel and overlapping of the bureaucracy. In order to overcome the above-mentioned challenges, the government adopted an anti-corruption governance model, as well as the 2025–2026 State Anti-Corruption Programme. These laws imply prevention of corruption as well as risk management with respect to the adoption of strict e-registers of public procurement and declaration of assets of civil servants. However, although the legislative framework is developing, implementation of these laws faces some difficulties, as Transparency International’s CPI gave Uzbekistan 31 points out of 100 possible, thus placing it 124th on the global scale.

In regard to sanctions and risk compliance, Uzbekistan is a country that calls for utmost diligence from foreign corporations. It has a foreign policy that is non-aligned and avoids voting in anti-Western geopolitical alliances at the UN, but because of the closeness and past trading relationship with Russia, it is seen as a vulnerable area. The reason for close observation of this area by financial compliance regulators is the suspicion of evading Western sanctions through the re-exportation of dual-use or intermediate goods to Russia.

As a means of avoiding these risks associated with international finance, the country ensures that there is compliance with the guidelines for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT). There has been strict supervision in the area of macroprudential regulations by the financial regulators, with the Central Bank of Uzbekistan (CBU) being at the forefront. This has led to an influx of penalties, warnings, and restrictions on the dividends that can be paid out by domestic commercial banks as they fail to adhere to the rules of compliance and transparency. The organizations that operate in regulated industries in Uzbekistan should ensure that they have automated transaction monitoring, conduct institutional risk assessment, and real-time sanctions screening incorporated into state electronic reporting systems. In addition, there was a considerable relaxation of personal data protection laws, allowing for non-biometric data to be stored internationally.