Court Delivers Verdict in Tashkent Overpass Collapse Case
Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The Mirzo-Ulugbek District Court of Tashkent has delivered a verdict in the criminal case concerning the partial collapse of an overpass at the intersection of Temur Malik and Buyuk Ipak Yuli streets. Six defendants were found guilty of official forgery and embezzlement of budget funds through misappropriation.
The collapse occurred on 12 March 2026 on an overpass that had originally opened in August 2024, prompting a criminal investigation. According to investigators, construction work worth 6.177 billion soums was performed with safety violations, while an additional 1.2 billion soums was paid out based on fraudulent documentation for work that was never conducted. Total damage to the state budget was estimated at 7.377 billion soums.
The defendants included Akmal Murodov, Deputy Director of the Tashkent Regional Branch of Uzyulkuprik Cluster State Institution; Sanjar Mannonov, Deputy Director and Chief Engineer of the Directorate for Construction and Reconstruction of Public Roads; Zafar Sharakhmedov, Chief Specialist of the Directorate's Technical Supervision Department; Abdumutal Isropilov, Production Department Head at Uzyulkuprik Cluster; Nurshod Mavlonov, Chief Project Engineer at Yol Loyikha Büroisi LLC; and Obid Adilov, Director of Grand Nur Yo‘l Qurilish LLC.
Court documents indicate that the reconstruction of the Tashkent Ring Road section and the overpass construction were carried out under a Cabinet of Ministers resolution dated 24 March 2022. In 2024, contractor agreements totaling over 213 billion soums were signed.
The investigation revealed that key construction steps violated technical standards. Furthermore, completed work reports falsely included the installation of a basalt geogrid worth 433 million soums and a sand-gravel mixture worth 766 million soums, despite these works never taking place.
Five of the six defendants pled not guilty, arguing that the documented violations held no causal link to the overpass collapse and that certain contested works were only included in a supplementary estimate. Only Abdumutal Isropilov partially admitted guilt, acknowledging that specific tasks were completed before final design and cost estimates had been approved.
At the direction of the Transport Prosecutor’s Office, specialists from the Republican Center for Forensic Expertise and related agencies inspected the site. Experts identified widespread violations of building codes, including insufficient rebar anchorage length, mounting errors, excessive concrete cover thickness, cold joints, and improper concreting techniques. Experts concluded that the collapse could have been avoided if proper construction standards had been observed.
The court found all six defendants guilty under Articles 167 (embezzlement) and 209 (official forgery) of the Criminal Code. Five defendants were sentenced to fines of 116.2 million soums each, while one received a fine of 112.5 million soums. All six were handed a one-year ban on holding managerial and financially responsible positions.
Additionally, the court ordered 7.377 billion soums previously deposited into the Prosecutor General’s Office account to be transferred to the state budget.
