Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The Competition Development and Consumer Protection Committee of Uzbekistan has fined the digital bank AVO Bank for misleading advertising.

The committee noted that it received a complaint about the bank disseminating false advertisements of its services.

The bank’s advertisement claimed that each new client would receive 250,000 soums. It also indicated that the client could receive this amount into their account or onto their bank card.

However, the advertisement did not specify that the client had to perform certain actions to receive the funds. It also failed to mention that the funds were credited as bonuses to the bank’s mobile application and could not be withdrawn in cash.

Committee specialists reviewed the bank’s advertising materials and identified several deficiencies.

Specifically, they found shortcomings in the advertisement for AVO Platinum bank cards.

The bank’s advertisement stated: "AVO Platinum Card - 0% on any purchase," and so on.

However, upon inspection, it was revealed that the 0% interest rate applied only for the first 45 days. After this period, the bank starts charging interest on the loan in the prescribed manner.

A special commission of the committee reviewed the case and found AVO Bank guilty of violating the law.

The bank violated Article 16 of the "Advertising Law" and the first part of Article 6 of the "Consumer Protection Law."

It should be noted that the bank has the right to appeal this decision in court.