State Security Service arrests deputy governor, agency and inspection employees (video)

The deputy governor of Beruniy district in the Republic of Karakalpakstan has been arrested for accepting a bribe. The incident was reported by the State Security Service (SSS).

According to the report, the deputy governor was caught red-handed while receiving $12,000 from the head of a limited liability company specializing in the processing of licorice roots. The bribe was in exchange for allocating 150 hectares of land in the Beruniy district for licorice root cultivation. The company operates in the Takhiatash district.

In a separate case in the Namangan region, the head of a gardening-focused farm in the Kosonsoy district was detained after demanding $240,000 in exchange for registering 24 hectares of land under the name of a buyer through an “official acquaintance.” During the continuation of the operation, the chief specialist of the Kosonsoy district project office under the state institution Agricultural Development Agency—affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture—was also detained after receiving $10,000 in connection with the land registration.

Another case was recorded in the Andijan region. A department head at the regional branch of the "Inspectorate for Supervision of the Agro-Industrial Complex" under the Cabinet of Ministers was detained while receiving $1,000. The bribe was reportedly paid by the head of a farm engaged in cotton and grain cultivation in the Andijan district, in exchange for issuing a favorable conclusion to reduce damages calculated for illegal structures built on six hectares of land.

Criminal cases have been initiated against all individuals involved, and investigative proceedings are currently underway.

It is worth noting that earlier, an official serving as a department head in the Ahangaran city administration of the Tashkent region was also arrested for exploiting another person’s trust and demanding money in exchange for resolving a legal case through the court system.