Tax inspector arrested in Tashkent for accepting bribe

A senior inspector at the Tashkent City Tax Department was arrested for allegedly accepting a bribe of 5,000 US dollars, the State Security Service reported.

According to authorities, the Mirzo Ulugbek District Court in Tashkent is reviewing a criminal case against the heads of a Surkhandarya-based limited liability company (LLC) producing textile products. The case was opened under Article 167 (embezzlement or misappropriation) and Article 184 (evasion of taxes or fees) of the Criminal Code.

An investigation conducted by the Department for Combating Economic Crimes and the Tashkent City Tax Department revealed that the company owed an additional 8.7 billion Uzbek soms in taxes.

On September 15 of this year, the court issued a ruling allowing a re-inspection of the company. During this process, the senior inspector from the Tax Audit Department allegedly promised to cancel the additional tax in exchange for a bribe of 5,000 US dollars from company representatives.

However, when the inspector was unable to fully cancel the 8.7 billion-som tax during the initial review, he returned the previously received 5,000 US dollars to the company. It was at this moment that State Security Service officers detained him with material evidence.

A criminal case has been initiated under Article 210, Part 2, Clause “v” of the Criminal Code (bribery), and pre-trial detention has been applied. Investigative actions are currently underway.

Earlier, police officers in Sirdaryo were also reported to have been caught accepting bribes.