Bribery, cover-ups and extortion remain key corruption risks in Uzbekistan's gas sector – Energy Ministry

Speaking at a briefing, First Deputy Energy Minister Umid Mamadaminov said law enforcement agencies had detained 67 employees of Hududgazta'minot in connection with 59 corruption cases since January 2025.

According to the official, the first major risk involves bribes paid to secure access to natural gas connections.

He said such cases persist because the gasification process has not yet been fully digitalized, leaving room for corrupt practices, while many consumers remain unfamiliar with the procedures for connecting their homes to the gas network.

To address the problem, a pilot version of the HGT-online platform has been launched in Tashkent. The system uses artificial intelligence and is integrated with the Ministry of Justice's Public Services Center database, allowing applications, connection point assignments, and technical documentation to be processed without human involvement.

The second corruption risk concerns the concealment of violations or accepting payments in exchange for reducing the amount of assessed damages during inspections.

To strengthen oversight, the ministry has equipped 2,478 neighborhood gas service workers and 451 engineers with tablets. Inspection reports have been fully digitalized, paper records have been abolished, and a new software platform and the E-ma'muriy mobile application have been introduced. Authorities are also working to equip all employees who interact with consumers with body cameras.

The third risk involves extortion during the replacement of outdated gas meters.

Mamadaminov explained that older mechanical meters do not transmit consumption data online, allowing corrupt employees to understate or conceal outstanding debts before replacing them with electronic meters.

According to the ministry, 104,215 households across Uzbekistan still use older gas meters, including 102,431 apartments in multi-story residential buildings and 1,784 private houses.

The ministry also highlighted anti-corruption measures in the liquefied gas sector. Since March 2026, a Face ID verification system has been introduced nationwide. A total of 984 employees have received tablets, and household gas cylinders are now supplied only after consumers are verified through facial recognition.

Procurement procedures have also come under closer scrutiny. Over the past 18 months, authorities reviewed 200 contractors, with contracts denied to 20 of them because of conflicts of interest or other adverse findings.

The ministry further reported that reviews of conflict-of-interest declarations submitted for 2025 identified 180 potential conflicts. An analysis of annual declarations filed in January 2026 uncovered an additional 14 actual conflicts and 726 potential ones. Ethics commissions took disciplinary measures where violations were confirmed, while preventive measures were introduced to address potential conflicts before they could develop further.