Swiss court drops money laundering trial against Gulnara Karimova

Switzerland's Federal Criminal Court has discontinued a money laundering trial against Gulnara Karimova, a daughter ​of Uzbekistan's former president, on the grounds ‌that she is not allowed to leave her country in time.

The court said no judgment could be reached ​before the statute of limitations expires on ​the alleged offences, Swiss public broadcaster SRF ⁠reported, citing the judge, News.Az reports, citing Reuters. 

Karimova, who has previously denied ​any wrongdoing, is accused of taking bribes and ​running a criminal organisation known as "The Office" that allegedly channelled hundreds of millions of dollars to accounts in Switzerland ​between 2005 and 2013. "Today's dismissal ordered by the ​Swiss Federal Criminal Court in favour of our client, Gulnara ‌Karimova, ⁠amounts to an acquittal under Swiss law," her lawyer Gregoire Mangeat said.

"The court held that there exists a lasting impediment to the continuation ​of the ​proceedings," he ⁠added, referring to the fact she could not attend the hearing and her ​conviction in Uzbekistan had been unfairly ​obtained.
Karimova ⁠is serving a prison sentence in Uzbekistan until December 2028, while the statute of limitations for the ⁠offences ​alleged by the Office of ​the Attorney General of Switzerland expires over the course of ​that year.

News.Az