Uzbekistan is working on revising its draft law on the declaration of income and assets by public officials. This initiative was mandated by a presidential decree issued on April 21, which sets out the adoption of regulatory documents identified at the expanded meeting of the National Anti-Corruption Council held on March 5.
The law will define the subjects and scope of declarations, the list of information to be disclosed, the format and procedure for submission, as well as the verification mechanism.
The amendments are expected to be developed by the end of May, with responsibility for the process assigned to the Anti-Corruption Agency, the Ministry of Justice, and the Prosecutor General’s Office.
What will be disclosed, and what will not
As reported by Gazeta.uz, the National Anti-Corruption Council has instructed that the following six categories of information must be disclosed in income declarations:
- Full name of the declarant
- Information on the spouse and underage children
- Place of work and job title
- Total annual income
- Real estate holdings
- Vehicles
Meanwhile, 20 categories of information will remain undisclosed, including residence address, income from agriculture and private practice, ownership of securities, cash and bank deposits, inheritance received, gifts valued up to 200 times the basic calculation unit (75 million UZS), honoraria, monetary prizes and lottery winnings up to 100 BCV (37.5 million UZS), and other categories.
Declarations must be submitted annually by April 1 through the electronic information system “Declaration.”
Data on declared assets will be automatically integrated through relevant organizational databases.
The Anti-Corruption Agency will serve as the authorized body overseeing the declaration system. It will carry out verifications and publish the open portions of the declarations on its official website.
Background on the declaration system
Efforts to implement an income and asset declaration system for public officials and their spouses in Uzbekistan have been underway since 2017. The original proposal required officials to declare assets, income and expenses for themselves, their spouses, parents, and children. In the latest version, the declaration is limited to income and applies only to spouses and underage children.
