Mutual financial claims between the Agency for Social Insurance and Pensions under the Government of Tajikistan and Tojiksodirotbonk (TSB) are currently being considered by judicial authorities. The matter reportedly concerns some 2.4 million somoni.
The Agency for Social Insurance and Pensions accuses TSB of inopportune return of its 200 million somoni that were deposited in TSB.
“By government’s decree of December 12, 2016 on issuance of bonds to recapitalize four distressed banks, including TSB, funds of federally funded institutions were supposed to be recalled from these banks until January 1, 2017 and transferred to a single account of the Finance Ministry’s Central Treasury. However, the funds of the Agency were transferred to that account belatedly. In this connection, the Agency request to fine TSB 2.4 million somoni,” the Agency lawyer Mirzorahim Rahimov told Asia-Plus in an interview.
He further noted that a court of first instance has dismissed the Agency’s claim and they have applied to Higher Economic Court of Tajikistan.
Meanwhile, TSB managers say the Agency’s claim is unfounded; moreover, they intend to exact more than 2 million somoni from the Agency.
“We have transferred more than 2 million somoni more than we had to. Therefore, we want to take this amount back,” Sherali Rahmonali, a spokesman for TSB, told Asia-Plus in an interview.
He further added that judicial authorities are currently considering the case pitting TSB against the Agency for Social Insurance and Pensions.
Recall, TSB, which is one of Tajikistan’s failing banks, has embarked on a desperate fire sale in order to pay out savings to its customers.
Among the items for sale listed on the TSB website are the bank’s properties located in ten cities and districts of the country.
Assets on TSB’s books reportedly include the bank headquarters in Dushanbe, 43 branches across the country, Closed Joint Stock Company (CJSC) Dushanbe Mall (Tajikistan’s largest shopping mall, which is home to the country's first ever hypermarket to be part of the French Auchan chain), Tajikistan Hotel in Dushanbe, eight nine-story apartment buildings in Danghara district (Khatlon province), spinning mills in Danghara and Farkhor districts (Khatlon province), cotton ginneries in Khatlon province, and auto-repair enterprise.
Four local commercial banks, including TSB, have been experiencing liquidity issues since 2015. Parliament in December 2016 approved a government decree to issue bonds to recapitalize the mentioned banks. TSB and Agroinvestbonk were topped up by 2.25 billion somoni (US$284 million) and 1.7 billion somoni (US$215 million) respectively.
TSB was established in December 1990 as the Tajik branch of the Vnesh Econom Bank of the former Soviet Union, and it initially specialized in trade and import-export banking. Later this branch was reorganized into a Joint-Stock Commercial Bank “Tajikvnesheconombank”. In June 1999 the bank was renamed and registered as Tojiksodirotbonk or TSB.
Headquartered in Dushanbe, TSB has 11 branches in the main cities of Tajikistan and covering all regions of the country.
