Uzbekistan’s GDP and state budget losses from the shadow economy amount to Uzbekistani som (UZS) 135 trillion ($10.9bn) and UZS 30 trillion, according to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, as reported by Trend on January 16.

Uzbekistan’s leader addressed a meeting on promoting macroeconomic stability and prosperity. Tens of trillions of som in services, manufacturing, and construction remain "in the shadows", he observed.

Some 41% of construction enterprises in Uzbekistan report having only one worker, the president noted. At the same time, these entities earnt 4 trillion som ($323.9mn) last year, he said. The records, he added, also showed that just one person was formally employed by 5,000 fruit and vegetable farms that cover 25 hectares or more.

Mirziyoyev also pointed to how though there are 14 agencies involved in combatting the shadow economy and economic crime, they were not working according to one unified system to coordinate their activities.

The president gave instructions to give additional powers to the Department for Combatting Economic Crimes under the General Prosecutor's Office.

The department, he said, would become an agency for in-depth analysis, operational and investigative work, searches and investigations, while its head would simultaneously hold the position of deputy prosecutor general. In addition, the department would receive modern information systems and special tools.

The department would be tasked with seeking fundamental changes in five areas of the economy: construction, pharmaceuticals, alcohol and tobacco trafficking, illegal imports, encashment and illegal exports of capital, said Mirziyoyev.

In addition, he added, a separate department for tackling the shadow economy would be established in the Prosecutor General's Office, with regional divisions.