Natasha worked in a loan department at an Uzbekistan bank. Her group was in charge of deciding loans, either in foreign currency or in domestic currency. The interest rates at that time were approximately 30% for domestic loans and 8 – 9% for hard currency loans. It was obvious that people wanted hard currency loans if possible. There were conditions that were required in order to qualify for such loans. You had to have some sort of proof, such as a delivery contract, to prove that you would be able to pay back your loan in the foreign currency, as well as other fairly standard loan application requirements.
Where there are people there will inevitably be somebody will try to game the system. It seems that there was a client of the bank who had a golf club. The golf club also needed loans from time to time for purchasing equipment such as lawn mowers or golf carts. It turned out that there is another rule that is also used during the loan process. When you are importing equipment that is of a technological nature you don’t have to pay sales tax. It is not entirely clear to this observer if cutting grass with a lawn mower really constitutes a technological piece of equipment but then again I don’t work at the bank, the golf course or for the tax authorities in Uzbekistan.