DUSHANBE, July 30, 2014, Asia-Plus — During a meeting with journalists in Dushanbe, Director of the Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption, Abdufattoh Ghoib, said on July 30 he has no doubt that Shuhrat Qudratov, the defense lawyer for jailed Tajik tycoon Zayd Saidov, is guilty.
“He was caught red-handed while taking money from his client,” the anticorruption agency chief said, noting that there are audio files of Qudratov’s negotiations regarding giving bribe.
“While searching Qudratov’ home, law enforcement officers found 20,000 U.S. dollars,” said Ghoib. “We are currently working to find out the origin of these funds.”
If convicted, Shuhrat Qudratov could face between five and ten years in jail, the anticorruption agency chief added.
We will recall that Shuhrat Qudratov faces charges of bribery, attempted crime and complicity in crime.
A statement, released by the Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption on July 22, notes that Shuhrat Qudratov represented Amirali Sulamayev during his fraud trial in a court in Dushanbe’s Ismoili Somoni district.
According to the statement, Qudratov offered a bribe of 2,500 U.S. dollars to Judge Nizamov for bringing in an acquittal for his client. Qudratov was reportedly detained by anticorruption officers on July 21 while he was taking money from his client.
Criminal proceedings were instituted on July 21 under the provisions of three articles of Tajikistan’s Penal Code: Article 36 – complicity in crime; Article 32 – preparation for crime or attempted crime; and Article 320 – bribery.
Shuhrat Qudratov is the deputy head of the Social-Democratic Party (SDP) and SDP leader Rahmatillo Zoyirov is representing Qudratov during his bribery trial.
Rahmatillo Zoyirov noted on July 25 that Qudratov took money from his client but not for bribing the judge. He reportedly took the money from Sulamayev in order to convey them to the injured party.
It is to be noted that Qudratov is the second defense lawyer for Zayd Saidov to be detained by Tajik authorities. In March, Saidov’s defense lawyer Fakhriddin Zokirov was arrested for his alleged debts to a local bank. He is still in pretrial detention.
