The Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption under the President of Tajikistan has submitted a case to the court against Aminjon Abdullozoda, the head of the Sughd Reclamation and Irrigation Department, accusing him of embezzling nearly 4.4 million somonis in public funds.
According to the anticorruption agency’s press center, Abdullozoda, in collusion with the department's leading specialist R. Barotov and five private company leaders, embezzled a total of 4.386 million somonis from a budget allocation of 13.117 million somonis. The funds were intended for the improvement of the irrigation system of agricultural lands and the repair of pumping stations in Zafarobod, Asht, Spitamen, and Mastchoh districts.
Although the exact timing of the embezzlement and the suspects' arrests has not been disclosed, it is noted that the funds were allocated during the 2023-2024 period.
Criminal proceedings have bene instituted against Abdullozoda and his accomplices under two articles of Tajikistan’s Penal Code: Article 245 (4) of Tajikistan’s Penal Code — embezzlement or misappropriation; and Article 340 (2) — forgery, manufacture, or sale of counterfeit documents, state awards, stamps, seals, or forms.
It is also noted that during the preliminary investigation, the defendants fully reimbursed the significant damage caused to the state.
