DUSHANBE, July 24, 2008, Asia-Plus — Sherkhon Salimzoda, director of the Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption, told a press conference in Dushanbe today that a case of Nizomkhon Jourayev, former director of the Isfara chemical plant and ex-member of the Sughd regional legislature, had moved to the Supreme Court.
According to him, 33 persons figure as accomplices of Jourayev and 17 of them have already been detained.
The investigation has established that damage caused by this criminal grouping to the country’s economy has amounted to 38 million somonis, including 18 million somonis in tax evasion and 20 million somonis in embezzlement and misappropriation of state funds, Salimzoda said.
The anticorruption agency head reminded that members of that criminal grouping are charged not only with economic crimes but also with murder of deputy Tajik chief prosecutor, Tolib Boboyev, committed in the northern city of Chkalovsk in 1999, as well as banditry, money laundry, illegally bearing, possessing, acquiring, and manufacturing weapons, etc.
“This criminal group has been involved in illegal privatization of 16 state-owned properties,” said Salimzoda, “Following anticorruption agency’s application, the Higher Economic Court has nullified privatization of those facilities and they have been returned to state.”
“Jourayev himself is still wanted by police,” said Solimzoda, “We have found the trace of him and we now know his whereabouts but I cannot disclose this information in interest of the investigation.”
We will recall that criminal proceedings were instituted against Jourayev in 2007 and eight alleged accomplices of Jourayev were detained last year. Jourayev himself faces charges of killing, banditry, organization of illegal armed formation, illegal possession of weapons, money laundry, embezzlement of state funds, and tax evasion.
