SSS: Deputy Khokim, Agency and Inspection Employees Detained for Corruption
Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The State Security Service of Uzbekistan (SSS) has uncovered several corruption cases involving officials in various regions of the country.
In the Republic of Karakalpakstan, the deputy khokim of the Beruniy district was caught red-handed while receiving a bribe of US$12,000. The money was intended as a payoff for facilitating the allocation of 150 hectares of land in favor of the head of a limited liability company engaged in licorice root processing and operating in the Takhiyatosh district.
In Namangan region, the head of a farming enterprise located in the Kosonsoy district, specializing in horticulture, demanded US$240,000 for securing ownership rights to 24 hectares of land, involving an influential intermediary. He was detained upon receiving the first installment of US$50,000. In connection with the case, a senior specialist at the district project office of the Agency for Agro-Industrial Development under the Ministry of Agriculture was also detained after accepting US$10,000 for his assistance in the land acquisition process.
In Andijan region, the head of a department within the regional office of the Inspection for Control over the Agro-Industrial Complex under the Cabinet of Ministers was arrested while accepting a US$1,000 bribe. In return, he had promised to lower the calculated damage related to illegal construction on a 600-square-meter plot in the Andijan district belonging to the head of a farm specializing in cotton and grain production.
Criminal proceedings have been initiated in all cases, and investigations are currently underway.