In September of the same year, she was named Permanent Representative of Uzbekistan to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva and took up the post in December 2008.

[23][24][25][26][27] According to US diplomats in Uzbekistan, Karimova "bullied her way into gaining a slice of virtually every lucrative business" in the country and is viewed as a "robber baron".

My name has been mentioned earlier several times in relations to companies such as Zeromax in Zug, Interspan, Oxus Gold, Wimm-Bill-Dann of Russia, Carlsberg and many others".

[31] Working though the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, the U.S. Department of Justice seized $850 million (~$1.06 billion in 2023) in 2016 that had been "funneled through corrupt deals" by Karimova.

[33] Karimova has also been accused of using UK companies to buy real estate around the world with funds she received through bribery and corruption according to a study by Freedom For Eurasia.

According to the study, accounting firms acting on behalf of Karimova purchased 14 properties around the world including in the UK, Switzerland, France, Dubai, and Hong Kong.

[34] In 2006, Karimova released her first music video singing a song called "Unutma Meni" (Don't Forget Me) under the stage name "Googoosha", apparently her father's nickname for her.

Karimova wrote a screenplay for The Theft of the White Cocoon, a story about the origin of the famed Central Asian silk, and set in the 5th and 6th centuries.

[37] Googoosha's first single "Round Run" was released in April 2012, with various remixes by DJ White Shadow,[38] Razor N Guido of USA and Max Fadeev of Russia.

[40] In its annual edition of a collection of poems of 2024, the German publishing company Brentano-Gesellschaft in Frankfurt am Main published Gulnara Karimova’s poem “The World is a Flow of Flashes and Glimpses.”[41] In March 2009, Karimova presented her own special jewellery collection "GULI for Chopard", designed for renowned Swiss company Chopard.

According to Human Rights Watch, up to two million Uzbek children are forced to leave school each year for two months to pick cotton – a fabric woven throughout Karimova's designs.

[48] In Uzbekistan, Karimova also hosted Style.uz Art Week featuring catwalk shows of international labels such as Cavalli, Scervino and Chopard.

[56] When Karimova refused to accede to the US court ruling awarding custody of the two children to Maqsudi, an international arrest warrant in her name was filed with Interpol.

[57] Others were driven to the Uzbek-Afghan border and released in Afghan territory,[56][failed verification] and Maqsudi had his business assets in Uzbekistan, particularly his interest in a joint-venture with Coca-Cola, taken away.

[59] On 9 July 2008, custody of the two children was fully given to Karimova, by a Consent Order signed by Judge Deanne M. Wilson (Superior Court of the State of New Jersey).

In 2003, when Sodiq Safoyev was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, rumours about his marriage to Karimova surfaced in local and international media.

[60] However, the allegations were denied by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the BBC, which published the story, was accused by First Deputy Minister Vladimir Norov of intruding into the personal lives of Safoyev and Karimova.

He explained that living in London, he cannot go back to Uzbekistan due to his fear that he would not be allowed to return, which was also the reason why he did not attend the funeral of his grandfather, who was initially responsible for putting Karimova under house-arrest.

On 28 July 2017, the Uzbek Prosecutor-General's Office released a statement saying that she was in custody following a 2015 conviction and faced additional charges in an ongoing investigation, marking the first time authorities had revealed details about her.