Uzbekistan's Dok-1 Max tragedy: most of the 78 billion soum compensation remains unpaid
A court awarded 78 billion soums in moral damages to families of children killed by the contaminated syrup. According to the Bureau of Compulsory Enforcement, only 16.7 billion soums has been paid; 61.3 billion remains outstanding.
More than two years after the Dok-1 Max poisoning that killed and disabled children, most of the compensation ordered by the court to the victims' families remains unpaid.
Of the 78 billion soums in moral damages set by the Tashkent City Court, only 16.7 billion soums (about $1.4 million) has been paid to date, per the Bureau of Compulsory Enforcement; 61.3 billion soums is still outstanding. The Bureau reported this on 7 October 2026.
The verdict
The trial that ended on 26 February 2024 convicted 23 defendants (18 men, 5 women) of crimes ranging from bribery and abuse of office to tax evasion and the production and sale of substandard medicines.
Singh Raghvendra Pratap, head of the importer Quramax Medical and an Indian citizen, received 20 years followed by deportation; Sardor Kariyev, former head of the Agency for Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry, received 18 years, and his deputies 16 years each. Sentences ranged from 3 to 20 years.
The court ordered damages to the families of 68 children who died, plus injured children; 85 citizens are parties to the enforcement proceedings.
In numbers
- Compensation awarded: 78 billion soums
- Paid: 16.7 billion soums (~$1.4m)
- Outstanding: 61.3 billion soums
- Children who died: 68
- Children disabled: 16
- Convicted: 23 (18 men, 5 women)
- Claimants in enforcement: 85 citizens
Recovering the debt
The Bureau is seizing and auctioning convicts' property. A non-residential building on Furqat Street sold for 793 million soums; a residential property in Chilanzar (~7.1 billion soums) remains at auction. Payments are drawn from auction proceeds and contributions by members of Kariyev's family and distributed evenly among the claimants.
Background
In 2022-2023 children in Uzbekistan fell ill after taking Dok-1 Max and Ambronol syrups made by India's Marion Biotech and imported by Quramax Medical. Lab tests found toxic diethylene glycol, which causes fatal kidney failure. The WHO issued an alert on 11 January 2023.
The response at both the regulatory and judicial levels was not proportionate to the gravity of the situation.
— Amulya Nidhi, national convenor of Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, Indian health activist (Newslaundry investigation)
