A court in northern the city of Isfara has found Firdavs Abduraufzoda, the former chief of staff of the city mayor’s office, guilty of fraud and fined him 52,500 somoni. The information was provided to Asia-Plus by the Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption’s office in Sughd province.
According to investigators, while working at the Isfara mayor’s office — including in the position of chief of staff — Abduraufzoda caused significant financial damage to several residents. In two separate cases, he allegedly received more than 526,000 somoni in exchange for promising to facilitate the appointment of his acquaintance, Rahimjon Ismonov, as head of the city’s land management department and to involve him in construction projects.
Additionally, authorities say he fraudulently obtained more than 400,000 somoni from three other residents under the pretext of allocating land plots. The funds were allegedly misappropriated.
Criminal proceedings were instituted under Article 247 (Parts 3 and 4) of Tajikistan’s Criminal Code (“Fraud”). The verdict was issued on December 16 last year but became publicly known only recently.
The anticorruption agency stated that the former official has fully compensated for the damages. His position regarding the verdict has not been disclosed. The Isfara mayor’s office confirmed that Abduraufzoda left his post in September of last year.
Anti-corruption officials note that corruption among public servants remains a serious issue. According to the head of the regional department, 83 corruption-related crimes were identified in 2025 within city and district administrations and their subordinate bodies in Sughd region.
Earlier this month, the mayor of Isfara reported the detention of the head of the city’s land resources department, Muhammad Bobozoda, on suspicion of bribery. The investigation is ongoing.
