Prosecutor’s Office investigator arrested with bribe in Khorezm

An investigator from the Urgench City Prosecutor’s Office in Khorezm Region was caught accepting a bribe and later attempting to return it. This was reported by the State Security Service (SSS).

According to the report, the senior investigator exploited his official position by demanding \$3,000 from a local citizen. In return, he promised to terminate a criminal case that was initiated by the regional department of the Prosecutor General’s Office and being handled by one of his colleagues, instead of sending it to court with an indictment.

Between May 16 and 28 of this year, the investigator fraudulently received \$1,000, 10 million soums, a safe valued at \$1,000, and a desk set worth 1.3 million soums.

However, after learning that the criminal case against him—filed under Part 1 of Article 25,168 (Fraud) and Part 1 of Article 28,211 (Bribery) of the Criminal Code—had not been dismissed but instead sent to court with an indictment, the citizen demanded that the investigator return the money and items.

The investigator was caught red-handed by officers from the Khorezm Regional Department of the SSS and the regional prosecutor's office while returning \$1,000, the safe, and the desk set to the citizen. Material evidence was secured during the detention.

It is worth noting that earlier, a cadastral officer in the Akkurgan district of Tashkent Region was also detained for demanding \$1,200 in exchange for issuing a permit to build a house on illegally occupied land. A criminal case was opened against him under Article 168 (Fraud), Part 3, Clause "c", and Article 28,211 (Bribery), Part 1 of the Criminal Code. An investigation is currently underway.