Senate names regions with highest corruption cases

On 5 September, the Senate reviewed the national report on combating corruption in Uzbekistan, which was presented by the Anti-Corruption Agency. During the discussions, senators highlighted persisting shortcomings in the fight against corruption.

According to analysis of court cases in 2024, corruption crimes in Andijan, Tashkent, Namangan and Syrdarya regions caused the greatest damage to state interests. Meanwhile, the overall number of corruption-related crimes grew in Andijan, Namangan, Tashkent, Kashkadarya and Samarkand regions.

Most individuals convicted of corruption crimes were employees of the preschool and school education system, healthcare institutions, commercial banks and the employment sector.

In 2024, the Ministry of Justice found 337 corruption-prone factors in 222 out of more than 2,000 draft documents – equal to 11 percent.

The majority of these risks were identified in draft regulations submitted by the ministries of Economy and Finance, Ecology, Agriculture, and Higher Education.

Most projects that were not submitted for anti-corruption review came from the Ministry of Investments, Industry and Trade (6 projects), followed by the ministries of Energy, Agriculture, and Foreign Affairs (5 each).

During the discussion, senators put forward several proposals, including:

• adopting urgent measures in government bodies and organizations where corruption crimes have increased;
• strengthening promotion of the system to reward individuals who report corruption;
• preventing additional duties being imposed on internal control officers in government institutions and local authorities;
• ensuring regular oversight by internal control units and enhancing the role of ethics commissions.

Earlier, it was reported that Anvar Otakhodjayev, the mayor of Namangan city, was arrested on charges of accepting a $60,000 bribe.