Namangan city mayor caught with $60,000 bribe (video)

Namangan city mayor Anvar Otakhodjayev was caught red-handed while accepting a $60,000 bribe, the State Security Service reported.

According to the report, the mayor of Namangan and the head of a shoe-manufacturing LLC colluded to demand $60,000 from a citizen who intended to start a business in the construction sector. In exchange, they promised to secure rights and financing to build a multi-storey residential building on a 35-acre plot of land in the city, where outdated housing structures are currently located.

During an operation, the head of the LLC was first detained with material evidence while receiving the demanded money. The operation was then continued, and the mayor, through his trusted associate, the head of the mayor’s office administration, received $60,000 from the LLC head. At that moment, his illegal activities were stopped.

Currently, the mayor of Namangan has been stripped of his parliamentary immunity. The Namangan regional department of the State Security Service has opened a criminal case against him and the head of the mayor’s office administration under Article 210 (bribery), part 3, paragraph "a" of the Criminal Code. The head of the LLC has been charged under Article 168 (fraud), part 4, paragraph "a" and Articles 28 and 211, part 3, paragraph "a" of the Criminal Code.

It was reported that the mayor has been placed in pre-trial detention. Within the framework of the investigation, his other illegal activities will also be given a legal assessment.

Anvar Otakhodjayev had been serving as mayor of Namangan since December 18, 2023.

It is worth noting that earlier, the governor of Sharof Rashidov district in Jizzakh region was caught taking a bribe. He had demanded $30,000 in exchange for securing permission to construct eight multi-story residential buildings on a 1.7-hectare plot of land allocated for the construction of a general secondary school.