The Government of Tajikistan has ordered amendments to the country’s law on amnesty allowing individuals to legalize their assets and money for another one year.
The corresponding government’s resolution was published on the legal information portal of the Ministry of Justice.
The law has been in effect since July 5, 2021, and its term has already been extended three times (in the editions of the Law of RT dated June 20, 2022, No. 1888; the Law of RT dated June 22, 2023, No. 1967; and the Law of RT dated February 23, 2024, No. 2043).
The latest term for the law's effect was set to end on January 4 of the upcoming year.
Tajikistan’s law on amnesty allowing individuals to legalize their assets and money that had not been previously declared and illegal incomes, which was adopted on June 30, 2021 and came into force on July 5 the same year and legalization was to expire in a year, has been extended until July 4, 2023. Such an amnesty is only a one-time initiative. The validity of the law then was extended for another six month, until January 5, 2024.
The legalization of assets and money automatically exempts holders of such assets from administrative and criminal liability.
This law provides for the simultaneous legalization of both assets and money
Under this law, precious metals and gems mined in the territory of Tajikistan illegally or acquired in Tajikistan or abroad with undeclared money could be legalized.
Tajik nationals, both individual entrepreneurs and founders and shareholders of legal entities, can legalize precious metals and gems.
Legalization does not apply to precious metals and gems subject to confiscation on the basis of a court order or if criminal or administrative proceedings were instituted against their holders. Legalization also does not apply to property of convicts.
For legalization of assets relevant commissions have been set up at the administrations of all cities and districts.
Legalization of money is carried out in banks with obtaining a relevant certificate.
Tajikistan has some experience in carrying out such amnesties, which were announced in the country three times. But the simultaneous legalization of both assets and money was carried out in Tajikistan for the first time.
The first such an action was carried out in 2003 to attract additional financing in the country’s economy. The law provided for legalization of money only and did not apply to assets.
In address to the parliament, President Emomali Rahmon noted in April 2004 that 190 million U.S. dollars owned by 18,000 people had been legalized in the framework of that one-time action.
The next such an action was carried out in 2008-2009 and it applied only to assets, which were illegally acquired or misappropriated.
As a result, more than 87,000 assets at a total cost of 19 billion somonis (equivalent to US$5 billion at the then exchange rate) had been legalized.
The third amnesty for legalized money was held in 2010-2011. The law that was passed at the time provided for legalization of money for purchase of shares of the Open Joint-Stock Company (OJSC) NBO Roghun, which was founded by the Government for completion of the construction of the Roghun hydroelectric power plant. The authorities opened special bank accounts for this.
The results of this amnesty were not made public probably due to insignificant volume of the legalized funds.
Meanwhile, the head of the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT), Firdavs Tolibzoda, told reporters in Dushanbe on February 14 that about 5.7 billion somonis (US$520 million at current exchange rate) were legalized in Tajikistan from August 2021 to December 31, 2023 in the framework of the country’s law on amnesty allowing individuals to legalize their assets and money that had not been previously declared and illegal incomes,.
According to him, the part of the legalized money was placed in banks as term deposits and “another part was used as investments as well as for currency exchange.”
