Four people have been detained in Tajikistan in connection with the kidnapping of Shuhrat Ismatulloev, the deputy chairman of Oriyonbank, reported Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service, Radio Ozodi, on July 3.
49-year-old Ismatulloev was forced into a black Hyundai Sonata car by four individuals around 8pm on the evening of June 23 in Dushanbe and taken to an unknown location, officials said.
He is one of the top executives at Oriyonbank (also known as Orienbank or Orienbonk), one of the Central Asian nation’s leading banks.
The case has become international as one suspect fled to Moldova, where he shot dead two security staff after being denied entry to the country on June 30.
According to Radio Liberty, at least four people have now been detained in Tajikistan on suspicion of belonging to an organised criminal group responsible for his kidnapping.
Radio Liberty sources did not disclose the names of those detained but said they are all former law enforcement officers who collaborated with criminals in carrying out the abduction.
One of the detainees is identified as a former employee of the interior ministry and the Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption, said a source close to the investigation on July 2.
Another source close to the Ismatulloev family mentioned the arrest of a former employee of the prosecutor’s office.
The kidnappers reportedly used counterfeit police license plates, allowing them to drive at high speeds and ignore traffic regulations without being halted by the authorities, according to Radio Liberty.
As a result, their vehicle, equipped with tinted windows, was not subjected to scrutiny at a traffic police checkpoint on the outskirts of the city.
Tajikistan’s interior ministry reported the suspected kidnapping on June 26, and announced a $30,000 reward for information leading to finding the banker, who went missing three days earlier.
Tajik national Rustan Ashurov, who was wanted by the police for suspected involvement in the kidnapping, fled the country to Chisinau, Moldova.
Ashurov shot dead a police officer and a security guard at Chisinau airport on June 30, after he was denied entry to Moldovan territory, the Ministry of Interior announced on July 1.
The 43-year-old was not allowed the enter the country as an effect of the tighter security regulations enforced by Moldova amid security threats posed by Russia. Under the regulations, people not able to explain the reason of their visit can be denied access, which often happens at Chisinau airport.
While being escorted to a special area at the airport, the man seized a gun from a border police officer and killed two people. He was later captured by a larger security team.
“The policeman was taken by surprise. It all happened in seconds … It was found that the attacker is a citizen of the Republic of Tajikistan who yesterday [June 30], becoming aggressive, attacked the border police by opening fire on him and the airport security agent. These two people died as a result of the incident,” said a statement from the Moldovan interior ministry on July 1.
“Over the last hours being in direct communication with the authorities in Tajikistan, it has been found that this person is wanted internationally after abducting a bank manager,” the statement added.
A murder case has been opened against the attacker, who is currently in serious condition in hospital.
Tajikistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on July 2 that representatives of the Tajik Prosecutor General’s Office are in contact with their Moldovan counterparts.
“Law enforcement officers of Tajikistan and senior officials of the embassy of our country in Moldova (with residence in Kyiv) were sent to the city of Chisinau to interact with Moldovan colleagues to clarify all the circumstances of the incident,” said the statement, quoted by news agency Avesta.
“We draw attention to the official announcement of the General Prosecutor’s Office of Tajikistan that R. Ashurov is one of the participants in an organised criminal group involved in the kidnapping of the first deputy chairman of the Oriyenbank of Tajikistan,” according to the statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
The ministry also expressed its condolences to the families of the two victims of the attack.
Moldova’s President Maia Sandu has declared July 4 a day of national mourning for Sergei Muntean and Igor Ciofu.
An extraordinary meeting of the National Committee of Aeronautical Security was called on July 2 and an expert working group has been set up to draw up proposals to ensure security at Chisinau International Airport, said a statement posted by the Moldovan interior ministry on its Facebook page.
Source: bne Intellinews
