A former government minister in Uzbekistan has been arrested on embezzlement charges in a fresh hint of infighting among the country’s political elite.

Aziz Voitov is suspected of large-scale embezzlement and abuse of power and faces up to 10 years in prison if found guilty, the Supreme Court said in a statement on December 18. No details on the alleged offenses have been provided.

Voitov, 43, had served as Agriculture Minister from 2022 until this October. He was removed from his post two months after his one-time superior, Sardor Umurzakov, was dismissed as head of the presidential administration. Both men previously worked at the Foreign Trade Ministry, where Voitov acted as Umurzakov’s first deputy.

The firing of Umurzakov in August sparked widespread speculation in Tashkent of cracks forming within the apparently monolithic power vertical. While Umurzakov’s star waned, another figure, the daughter of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Saida, saw an upturn in her fortunes. As part of the reorganization within the presidential administration, Mirziyoyeva was named as her father’s aide, essentially making her one of the most important people in the administration.

Voitov is only one of several Umurzakov-linked casualties. Several of the former presidential administration chief’s known associates have to date been either fired or demoted.

There are other clues of a purge of sorts being in the offing. Following news of Voitov’s arrests, local outlets reported on the detention of the head, or khokim, of the Tashkent region’s Bekobod district. Shukhrat Mirzayev, who was appointed to that position just a few months ago, is said to be facing charges of embezzling state funds.

President Mirziyoyev appears to be trying to cast all these developments as part of a broader onslaught against corruption. On December 19, he attended the unveiling of a Tashkent monument symbolizing the ongoing battle on graft.

The 12-meter lattice metal hand pointing upward stands for the “absolute rejection of corruption,” the presidential administration said in a statement.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, which was attended by the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Mirziyoyev said Uzbekistan was ready to “mobilize all its strength and potential” in its “responsible, uncompromising fight” against corruption.

Whatever efforts the government has undertaken since Mirziyoyev came to power in 2016 does not appear to have yielded especially fruitful dividends.

The Corruption Perceptions Index for 2022 compiled by Transparency International assigned Uzbekistan a score of 31, where 0 indicates significant corruption and 100 represents a clean bill of health.

Source: Eurasianet

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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

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