Investigation into case of Jamshed Ziyoyev, ex-chairman of Tajprombank, is nearing completion. The case will move to a court within the next few days and if convicted, Ziyoyev could face up to 12 year in prison.
The Prosecutor-General’s Office is investigating whether Ziyoyev illegally granted loans and misspent the bank’s funds. Investigation into the case is nearing completion and it will move to a court within the next few days.
A source close to the investigation says criminal proceedings have been instituted against the ex-chairman of Tajprombank under the provisions of four articles of Tajikistan’s Penal Code: Article 245 – embezzlement of funds; Article 247 – fraud; Article 340 – document forgery; and Article 295 – abuse of authority by employees of commercial and other organizations.
If convicted, Jamshed Ziyoyev could face up to 12 years in prison.
Recall, signs the lender was in distress began to emerge in 2015. In the middle of 2016, Ziyoyev was removed as head of the bank, which was placed under administration. In December that year, the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT) declared it was refinancing Tajprombank to the tune of 450 million somoni and reappointed Ziyoyev to his old job and ordered him to restore the lender to health. The bailout money was raised through the emission of somoni-denominated sovereign bonds that were converted into liquid cash by the National Bank.
But then two months later, the NBT performed yet another about-face and decided to shutter Tajprombank, together with another recipient of bailout funds, Fononbank.
The NBT declared Tajprombank insolvent in February 2017 and has since been ostensibly administering the process of paying out depositors
Tajprombank had reportedly accumulated a number of high-stakes delinquent debtors over the years.
Besides, some sources say that companies affiliated to Ziyoyev and his son owed 13 million U.S. dollars to the bank.
Tajprombank also has liabilities before the state — $13 million with the Finance Ministry and another $15 million with the National Bank.
Tajprombank reportedly holds 117 items, including dozens of offices and an unspecified number of residential properties.
Tajprombank (Tajik Joint-Stock Commercial Industrial Bank for Reconstruction and Development) was founded in October 1995 as an all-purpose retail bank. The controlling shares of the company were held by Ziyoyev.
