French authorities are investigating a money laundering case that targets Gulnara Karimova, the Uzbek leader's daughter, among others, a judicial source said yesterday.
The eldest daughter of Islam Karimov, who has ruled Uzbekistan with an iron fist since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Karimova was educated at Harvard and is seen as a possible successor to her 75-year-old father.
The source said a French probe was opened in February into "money laundering by an organised gang" and "corruption of a foreign official", in a case allegedly involving Karimova.
The case centres around real estate, including a villa in the south of France.
Since last year, her name has also been mentioned in a massive money laundering probe against Swedish-Finnish telecoms giant TeliaSonera. Swiss public broadcaster RTS said it received information indicating that a probe into the matter by the Swiss public prosecutor's office implicates Karimova directly, though she has yet to be notified officially of any charges.
Karimova has become the public face of her former Soviet country that borders Afghanistan, and until recently served as its permanent representative in the United Nations in Geneva.
