November 17, 2025

Changes in the procedure for opening bank accounts

Resolution of the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 26/10 dated October 27, 2025 (hereinafter, the “Resolution”) introduced amendments and additions to the following banking services related to the opening of bank accounts:

  • introduction of escrow accounts;
  • remote opening of bank accounts.

Escrow Account

According to the Resolution, an escrow account is a special bank account opened by a bank for receiving and holding funds deposited by the account holder, with the obligation to transfer such funds to another person upon the occurrence of conditions established by an escrow agreement.

The introduction of this banking instrument is linked to Presidential Decree of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. UP-11 dated January 27, 2025, under which, starting from 2026, financing of the construction of residential and non-residential properties will be carried out exclusively through the escrow, excluding the possibility for co-investors to transfer funds directly to the developer’s bank accounts.

It is important to note that transactions on an escrow account cannot be suspended, such accounts cannot be seized, and funds held in them cannot be debited either for the obligations of co-investors to third parties or for the obligations of the developer.

Remote Opening of Bank Accounts

Since 2023, legislation has allowed the remote opening of bank accounts for legal entities whose founders are residents of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Presidential Resolution No. PP-419 dated November 10, 2022). Following the adoption of the Resolution, this remote account-opening procedure has been extended to legal entities whose founders are non-residents.

Still, it is expected that, in addition to the standard set of documents (see list here), opening such an account will require submitting through the bank’s application documents identifying non-resident founders, especially if they are registered in jurisdictions with preferential tax regimes (offshore jurisdictions). Such documents may include the founding documents of the founder, passports of its executives, and the order appointing the executives.

At the same time, it is not excluded that some banks, even when such founders are involved, may choose not to request additional documents and may conduct KYC based on information obtained from public company registries.