"Owns a Chery car, but still receiving aid" – Over 20,000 families removed from social benefits registry

On January 31, during a briefing at the Agency of Information and Mass Communications (AIMC), Hayot Shamsuddinov, the head of the information service of the Prosecutor General’s Office, provided an update on the office's work in 2024. He highlighted efforts to uphold the rule of law, protect citizens' rights, and prevent crime in the country.

According to Shamsuddinov, the prosecutor’s office took targeted measures to reduce poverty, providing assistance to nearly 2 million families. As a result of employment support for family members, many were able to improve their living conditions.

As part of the control measures, 20,129 families were removed from the social assistance registry in 2024, preventing the disbursement of 32 billion UZS from the national budget.

Shamsuddinov shared examples, including cases where citizens owned assets while still receiving social benefits. For instance, a resident of the Buvayda district was found to have 38 cattle, a resident of the Yazyavan district operated a retail shop, and a resident of the Jalakuduk district owned a Chery-brand car — yet they were still receiving assistance. These families were removed from the registry.

Meanwhile, over 5,000 families who were in need but had not been registered for social assistance were included in the program and granted state support.

In addition, as part of efforts to ensure employment in 2024:

- 489 citizens received a total of 3.8 billion UZS in delayed wages;
- 78 cases of embezzlement involving 11.2 billion UZS in wages and equivalent payments were uncovered, with those responsible held accountable;
- It was discovered that 862,350 new job positions had been falsely reported, prompting appropriate corrective actions;
- 4.7 billion UZS in damages were voluntarily recovered, and 31.2 billion UZS worth of 2,185 lawsuits were filed in courts to protect citizens’ rights.