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Tajikistan’s National Financial Control and Anti-Corruption Agency reported that it had discovered that more than 120 million somoni (over $11 million) worth of government funds had been stolen from the Ministry of Defense institutions, Ozodi reported.
According to the agency, 52 officials from the department and other government agencies were detained as a result.
According to the Ministry of Defense, the funds are allocated from the national budget and are used for soldiers’ uniforms and food supplies, as well as to ensure national security.
“According to the results of the audit of the financial activities of the departments under the Ministry of Defense, the total amount of public funds was 123 million, 972 thousand somonis, and nine criminal cases have been submitted to the Supreme Court so far,” Nasriddin Nizomzoda, head of the investigation department of the anti-corruption agency, said at a press conference on August 9.
He said that cases have been registered against 52 persons in connection with the theft of public funds in the defence ministry institutions and have been sent to court for further proceedings, while preliminary investigations in some cases are still ongoing.
“So far, 93 million somoni out of a total amount of more than 123 million somoni has been returned to the state budget,” Nizomzoda noted.
The agency reported that the 52 people involved in the case are not only employees of the Ministry of Defense, but also employees of other ministries and departments – the Accounting Office, the Ministry of Finance, etc. However, no information was provided on the identities of the detainees.
On August 9, at a press conference held at the Ministry of Finance of Tajikistan, it was confirmed that an employee of the ministry had been detained due to a lack of funds in the Ministry of Defense. Yusuf Majidi, First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Tajikistan, said that the investigation into the case was ongoing and therefore no details could be provided.
Tajikistan’s anti-corruption agency confirmed in February that the Ministry of Defense had stolen and misappropriated millions of dollars. It was later reported that part of the theft of 24 million somoni had been established and the media would announce the results of the investigation later.
The misuse of funds intended for provision of military personnel and border protection in the country came against the backdrop of earlier reports of inadequate provision of military forces.
The theft of millions of somoni in budget funds by employees of the Ministry of Defense and other departments of the country is another sign that corruption and bribery have taken root in Tajikistan. In January, Tajikistan fell four places in the new Corruption Perceptions Index compared to last year, indicating that corruption in the country has become even worse. The international organization Transparency International publishes an annual report on the perception of corruption in countries around the world, and in its latest report, Tajikistan ranked the lowest, ranking 162nd out of 180 countries in the world.
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