The anticorruption agency has confirmed the arrest of top managers of Umed-88, one of Tajikistan’s largest gas retailers. They are reportedly suspected of abusing office, illegally receiving a loan and embezzling state funds.
According to information posted on the website of the Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption, Open Joint-Stock Company (OJSC) NBO Roghun, Ministry of Finance and Umed-88 LLC on May 15, 2015 signed a trilateral loan agreement, under which OJSC NBO Roghun acted as creditor and the Ministry of Finance and Umed-88 LLC acted as borrowers.
The document provided for granting a 171 million somoni loan to Umed-88 LLC for enhancement of the country’s agrarian-and-industrial complex by means of providing farming units with diesel fuel. The borrowers should have repaid the loan not later than December 31, 2015.
According to the anticorruption agency, Umed-88 top managers received a large state loan illegally. Umed-88 director Idibek Ibrohimov, the gas retailer owner Rajabali Odinayev and other top managers of the company are charged with untargeted use of the loan. In May-June 2015, they reportedly used 74 million somoni of the loan to repay the company’s debts to Amonatbonk (Tajikistan’s savings bank) and Tojik Sodirot Bonk (TSB).
Besides, Umed-88 top managers have reportedly also received large loans from other banks. The company now owes 26 million somoni to Amonatbonk and 4.5 million somoni to Agroinvestbonk, according to the anticorruption agency’s press center.
Criminal proceedings against Rajabali Odinayev, Idibek Ibrohimov and other top managers (their names are not given) under the provisions of three articles of Tajikistan’s Penal Code: Article 246 (3) – large-scale embezzlement of funds; Article 264 (2) – illegal receiving of loan; and Article 295 (2) – abuse of office entailing serious consequences. An investigation is under way.
Earlier, a source at the anticorruption agency told Asia-Plus that Rajabali Odinayev, the owner of Umed-88, one of Tajikistan’s largest gas retailers, was arrested on October 14 on suspicion of tax evasion and large-scale fraud.
The owner of one of the country’s largest chains of gas filling stations was reportedly arrested right after President Emomali Rahmon harshly criticized him during a meeting with local businesspeople.
Recall, President Rahmon noted on October 14 that Umed-88 had some years ago received a 170 million somoni loan ($19.3 million at the current rate) at 18 percent interest with facilitation from the Ministry of Finance, but that the company had failed to pay the money back.
“Sixty million somoni of this money have gone to paying off debts to Tojik Sodirot Bonk (TSB), and 25 million has gone to Amonatbonk. The rest he [Odinayev] just spent for his own needs. He should answer before the law. Government money is the money of the people,” the president said.
It is to be noted that the 18 percent interest rate is considered relatively preferential compared to what is offered by Tajik banks. For comparison, the weighted average interest rate for loans in the national currency is 30.46 percent.
After president’s criticism directed at the founder of gas retailer Umed-88, workers started to take down Umed-88 signs across the country. People at gas filling stations say the stations now belong to another company. They refrain to name the new owner of the Umed-88 chain of gas filling stations.
Umed-88 had been engaged in supplying fuels to Tajikistan and selling oil products in the country for more than twenty years. It had more than 70 gas filling stations across Tajikistan.
Until this year, Umed-88 along with Gapromneft-Tajikistan, Tajik Petroleum and Aurum Spika had been on the list of companies dominating Tajikistan’s fuel market. This year, the company was removed from the list as its share on the fuel market of Tajikistan fell.
Tajikistan founded OJSC NBO Roghun with an authorized capital of 116 million somoni for completing the construction of the Roghun station in April 2008 after it formally revoked a contract with Russia’s RusAl aluminum company for the construction of the Roghun HPP in August 2007. The Tajik government accused the Russian company of failing to fulfill the contract signed in 2004. Tajik authorities and RusAl became bogged down in the hydroelectric plant's dam model and height, crucial factors in its capacity.
To raise funds to complete construction of the Roghun HPP the government started to sell shares in Roghun to people on January 6, 2010. Tajikistan has reportedly issued 6 billion somoni worth of Roghun shares.
To-date, the sale of Roghun shares has reportedly earned the government more than 830 million somoni.
22,000 people are reportedly holders of the Certificates of Shares (the face value of one Certificate of Shares is 5,000 somoni) and nearly 2 million people are holders of shares of the face values of 100, 500 and 1,000 somoni.
