Two employees of Tajik Islamic Institute have reportedly been detained on suspicion of a large-scale bribery.
Dean of the Faculty of Islamic Studies Abdusamad Ahyoyev and Head of the Testing Center at Tajik Islamic Institute Najmiddin Samiyev have been arrested on suspicion of taking bribes for enrolling students without exams.
An official with the Committee on Religious Affairs (CRA) under the Government of Tajikistan has confirmed this information noting that investigation is under way.
In January, Samiyev and Ahyoyev reportedly enrolled 22 students without exams, and for this they received about 70,000 U.S. dollars.
Criminal proceedings have been instituted against them under the provisions of two articles of Tajikistan’s Penal Code: Article 319 – bribe taking; and Article 340 – document forgery.
Tajik State Islamic Institute was established in November 2007 on the basis of Islamic University named after Imam Tirmizi, which was founded at Qoziyot (the office of Muslim religious authority – currently Islamic Center) in 1991. The Institute was granted a status of state educational facility in March 2008 and it is now funded from the country’s budget.
The Testing Center was established at Tajik State Islamic Institute in 2015.
