The deputy head of the Shakhrinavsky district of Tajikistan and local deputy Asliddin Hamdamzoda will be tried for accepting a bribe of 20,000 somoni, the Agency for State Financial Control and Anti–Corruption of the republic reported.
The Agency's report says that, according to the investigation, Asliddin Hamdamzoda, MP of the Shakhrinavsky district, has been working as deputy chairman of the Shakhrinavsky district for agriculture since May 15, 2023. It was in this position that he committed the crime imputed to him.
"Hamdamzoda, being an official and using his official position as chairman of the commission for regulating the use of pastures of the Shakhrinavsky district, in April 2025, during the official appeal of citizen M.B.P. for the allocation of 118.85 hectares of pasture land from the rural districts of Istiqlol and Saba of the specified district, demanded from him a bribe of 20 thousand somoni for the commission of the specified action", – the Agency said in a statement.
It is also emphasized that "in order to implement his criminal plan, during May 2025, Hamdamzoda received a bribe of 20,000 somoni from citizen M.B.P. and spent the specified amount on personal needs."
The Agency opened a criminal case against Asliddin Hamdamzoda under part 3 of Article 319 ("Taking a bribe") of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan and, after approving the indictment, sent it to the court for consideration. This article provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment from 5 to 10 years.
The agency does not provide any other details. It is not reported whether Hamdamzoda has been detained.
It is worth noting that in recent months this is not the first time that the Tajik authorities have reported the arrest of government officials on charges of bribery. Recently, the former head of Dushanbe International Airport, Ismatullo Abdullozoda, and several of his former subordinates were arrested on suspicion of embezzling 1.245 billion somoni from airport funds through "one-day firms." Their case is currently under investigation.
Earlier, the Khujand city court found the former rector of Khujand State University, Ayub Usmonzoda, guilty of accepting a large–scale bribe under part 4 of Article 319 of the Criminal Code and sentenced him to 7 years in prison.
