President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed presentation of proposals to step up the fight against organized crime Thursday, his press service said.

At the presentation, Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted that the forms and methods of organized crime had been changing in recent years. "Current penalties are not effective enough against crimes by organized groups with open disregard for norms of public conduct and demonstrative defiance of the law, including the display or use of firearms, repeated offenses, as well as resistance to government officials performing public order duties," the statement read.

Recently, there have also been cases of covertly organizing illegal fights in combat and mixed sports involving young people. There are no penalties for such actions in the law.

He emphasized that it was big time to insert provisions into laws aimed at preventing such threats, combating them uncompromisingly, and eradicating them.

The presentation has proposed to criminalizing creation of a crime group for purpose of committing serious and especially serious crimes, its financing, assistance in concealing crimes committed by such groups, as well as for the illegal organization and holding of martial arts competitions.

The presentation has also proposed harsher penalties for hooliganism and administrative liability for illegal martial arts competitions.

A bill aimed at enhancing criminal law mechanisms to combat organized crime and crime in public places has been reportedly prepared.

At a meeting in late January, Shavkat Mirziyoyev criticized the insufficient steps to curb the activities of organized crime groups both within Uzbekistan and abroad. He ordered the formation of a unified system to combat organized crime across borders and online. It was announced that a separate unit to combat organized crime would be established within the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The day before, the Interior Ministry reported that 45 organized crime groups had been identified in the country in the first two months of the year.

The presentation also unveiled proposals to improve the fight against cybercrime and offenses committed using information technology.

Reportedly, over the past six years, the number of reports of cybercrime to law enforcement agencies has increased 48-fold. The financial damage caused to individuals and legal entities exceeded 2 trillion soums. Due to vulnerabilities in the systems of three banks, 3,025 clients suffered financial losses totaling 17 billion soums.

In April of last year, the president signed a decree strengthening steps to combat cybercrime. According to it, banks must compensate victims of cybercrimes committed due to their vulnerabilities. Liability has also been introduced for individuals who allow their bank cards, accounts, and SIM cards to be used to commit cybercrimes.