The Prosecutor's Office of Samarkand Region purchased 22 iPhones using budget funds

On December 28, 2023, they acquired 21 iPhone 14 Pro Max and 1 iPhone 15 Pro Max, each with a memory capacity of 1 TB. The contract reveals that each of the 21 smartphones cost 19,999,000 sums, totaling 419,979,000 sums, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max was priced at 25.3 million sums. 

According to data from the Bureau of Compulsory Enforcement, the Prosecutor's Office of Samarkand Region has a total debt of 10,505,000,000 sums, primarily related to crime-related damages.

Additionally, various state organizations have purchased or are in the process of purchasing expensive mobile phones through the electronic portal of public procurement:

- The Medical Association of Dehkanabad District, Kashkadarya Region, procured one iPhone 14 Pro Max for 14.4 million sums.
- Kashkadarya Region Hospital for Eye Diseases acquired two Galaxy S23 Ultra for 24.7 million sums.
- The Media Center under the Presidential Press Service purchased two iPhone 15 Pro Max and Apple AirPods 3 wireless earphones for 45.4 million sums, alongside other acquisitions.
- The National Information Agency of Uzbekistan (UzA) obtained 5 iPhone 14 Pro for 69.7 million sums.
- Various other organizations such as the Cinematography Agency, Tashkent Region Branch of the Republican Center for Spiritual Promotion, Khorezm Region "Yoshlar Daftari" Fund, Surkhondaryo Ingichka Fiber Cotton Research Institute, Bukhara Regional Administration, Central State Archive of Scientific, Technical, and Medical Documents, and Burchmulla State Forestry in Tashkent Region made similar purchases.

For context, Uzbekistan ended 2023 with a state budget deficit of 59 trillion sums, which increased to nearly 20 trillion sums in the first quarter of 2024. The country's state debt reached 35 billion dollars by the end of 2023. It's worth noting that the mayor of Tashkent, Shavkat Umrzakov, allocated nearly 8 billion sums for the purchase of flower seedlings.