19 assistant governors prosecuted for corruption in Samarkand

Nineteen assistant governors have been brought to criminal liability in the Samarkand region. This was revealed at a meeting of the Samarkand Regional Anti-Corruption Council held on June 4.

In the first quarter of this year, over 3,300 instances of falsified reports were uncovered. As a result, disciplinary, administrative, and criminal proceedings were initiated against more than 80 assistant governors and other officials. Of these, 19 assistant governors were held criminally liable. Authorities report that a total of 3 billion soums in subsidies, benefits, and loans were embezzled.

Despite a significant number of offenses being linked to officials in Samarkand city and the Urgut, Ishtikhan, and Akdaryo districts, no internal audits or inspections were conducted by local khokimiyats or employment departments.

Investigations also found that, via the “Single National Labor System” electronic platform of the employment authorities, subsidies amounting to as much as 30 times the base calculation value were issued to 155 individuals who were either already employed or self-employed. These violations primarily occurred in Kattakurgan city, and the Kattakurgan, Nurabad, Narpay, Jomboy, Aqdaryo, Bulungur, Samarkand, and Payariq districts.

Additionally, between 2023 and 2024, equipment valued at 63 billion soums—procured using state budget funds—was distributed to unemployed citizens in the presence of assistant governors. While official documentation was completed, there have been notable cases of abuse in the allocation of these subsidies to individuals listed in the social register.

The Law "On Conflict of Interest" prohibits state employees from engaging in activities that could create conflicts of interest. Despite this, it was revealed that 12 employees of employment agencies and 25 assistant governors had established and operated private businesses.

According to the report, heads of the regional departments for poverty reduction and employment, along with other related organizations, were summoned to provide explanations regarding these violations.

It should be noted that earlier in Tashkent’s Shaykhontohur district, an assistant khokim was arrested for misappropriating 427.7 million soums for personal use. A criminal case has been opened under Article 168, Part 4, Clause "a" (fraud) and other relevant articles of the Criminal Code.