By president’s decree the ministry of finance has been replaced, a reliable source in the Tajik government told Asia-Plus Friday afternoon.
By president’s decree issued on December 19 Abdusalom Qurboniyon was relieved of his post of Minister of Finance in connection with transfer to other job.
Fayziddin Qahhorzoda, who had previously served as Chairman of the State Committee on Investment and State-owned Property Management (GosKomInvest), replaced Qurboniyon as Minister of Finance.
Recall, President Emomali Rahmon harshly criticized the owner of Umed-88, one of Tajikistan’s largest gas retailers, Rajabali Odinayev, during a meeting with local businesspeople in Dushanbe on October 14.
The president, in particular, noted that Umed-88 had some years ago received a 170 million somoni loan at 18 percent interest with facilitation from the Ministry of Finance, but that the company had failed to pay the money back. “Sixty million somoni of this money have gone to paying off debts to Tojik Sodirot Bonk (TSB), and 25 million has gone to Amonatbonk. The rest he [Odinayev] just spent for his own needs. He should answer before the law. Government money is the money of the people,” Emomali Rahmon said.
After president’s criticism directed at the founder of gas retailer Umed-88, workers started to take down Umed-88 signs across the country. The company’s head office in Dushanbe has been closed.
Ten days later, the anticorruption agency said that Rajabali Odinayev and Umed-88 director Idibek Ibrohimov had been arrested.
Odinayev and Ibrohimov were detained on October 14 right after the president harshly criticized the company.
According to information posted on the website of the Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption, Open Joint-Stock Company (OJSC) NBO Roghun, Ministry of Finance and Umed-88 LLC on May 15, 2015 signed a trilateral loan agreement, under which OJSC NBO Roghun acted as creditor and the Ministry of Finance and Umed-88 LLC acted as borrowers (Most likely, the Ministry of Finance acted as guarantor – Asia-Plus).
The document provided for granting a 171 million somoni loan to Umed-88 LLC for enhancement of the country’s agrarian-and-industrial complex by means of providing farming units with diesel fuel. The borrowers should have repaid the loan not later than December 31, 2015.
