State Security Service detains officials on bribery charges with a judge among them

The cases of corruption have been uncovered in the Namangan, Fergana, and Samarkand regions, as well as in the city of Tashkent, the State Security Service reported.

In particular, a judge of the Namangan regional arbitration court operating under the Public fund for the development of International arbitration and courts of arbitration of Uzbekistan demanded $3,200 from a resident of Chust district in exchange for issuing a ruling granting ownership rights to a disputed, unfinished non-residential building located on a six-hundred-square-meter plot of land in the ’’Mustaqillik’’ neighborhood of the same district. During a special operation, the arbitration court judge was detained with material evidence at the moment of receiving the money.

In addition, during a special operation conducted in the Fergana region, the chief specialist of the regional department for Veterinary and livestock development was arrested while receiving $500 from the manager of a livestock farming enterprise located in the Uzbekistan district. The money was taken in exchange for issuing a certificate confirming the farm’s transfer to a breeding category. During the preliminary inquiry, it was revealed that the chief specialist intended to pass this money to the deputy head of the department. The operation was continued, and the deputy official was caught while receiving $300.

At the same time, in the Pastdargom district of the Samarkand region, the head of an LLC engaged in providing accounting services deceived two citizens by gaining their trust. He entered false information indicating that they were allegedly employees of the companies whose accounting he managed, thereby increasing their work experience. In coordination with an employee of the Pastdargom district branch of the ’’Inson’’ social services center, he promised to arrange their retirement and pension payments of 2.5 million soums each in exchange for $2,000. During a special operation, the LLC head was detained with material evidence while receiving $1,900 of the agreed-upon amount.

Furthermore, two heads of departments at the Directorate for the Use of canals and improvement of adjacent areas were arrested with material evidence while receiving 30 million soums in bribes in Tashkent city. They abused their official positions by demanding money from a construction company in exchange for not preparing an official report imposing a 60 million-soum fine for dumping waste soil into the territory of the Bozsuv canal and for providing further patronage.

At present, criminal proceedings have been initiated against these individuals under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code, and investigative actions are underway.

It is worth noting that earlier, employees of the Customs and Tax committees were detained while accepting bribes in the Tashkent region and Tashkent city. Meanwhile, an assistant judge of the Termiz district court in the Surkhandarya region was previously caught with an $800 bribe.