A Bokhtar city court has fined Akobir Kholmumin, an inspector from the sales department of OJSC Electricity Distribution Networks" of Bokhtar, 15,000 somonis for embezzling 7,500 somoni. The news was reported by the local Nabzi Bokhtar newspaper, citing the assistant prosecutor of the city, Rahmatsho Mahmadzoda.
According to Mahmadzoda, Kholmumin, while performing his official duties, unlawfully collected 7,519 somonis in cash from 15 residents of the Hoji Sharif neighborhood in Bokhtar and appropriated the money for himself.
The Bokhtar city court found Kholmumin guilty under Article 245 (2) of the country’s Penal Code – embezzlement or misappropriation, and imposed a fine of 200 base units (one base unit equals 75 somoni) on him.
This case is part of a wider trend of investigations into corruption within the state-run electricity distribution sector.
Earlier, B.B. Homidov, the warehouse manager at the Istaravshan branch of OJSC Electricity Distribution Networks, became the subject of a criminal investigation on charges of large-scale embezzlement. The investigation claims that Homidov, abusing his official position, misappropriated goods and electrical equipment worth over 1.2 million somonis. The exact period during which these crimes occurred has not been disclosed.
Criminal proceedings have been instated against Homidov under Article 245 (4) of the country’s Penal Code — embezzlement or misappropriation; an investigation is under way.
