Mirziyoyev Announces Uncovering of Embezzlement Totalling 53 Trillion Soums in Uzbekistan’s State Agencies and Enterprises

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — On 27 January, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev reported during a government meeting the discovery of large-scale embezzlement and financial irregularities within state agencies and enterprises across the country amounting to 53 trillion soums, with the direct losses from the uncovered corruption schemes totaling 4.2 trillion soums.

“Remember: every soum of public funds will be under strict control. Accountability is inevitable, and punishment will be severe,” emphasized the head of state.

He noted that the recently implemented compliance and anti-corruption control system within the Presidential Administration and other state bodies has enabled the identification of significant violations in budget revenues, embezzlement, and financial mismanagement amounting to 53 trillion soums, as well as outstanding obligations in foreign trade operations exceeding 8 billion US dollars.

According to the president, 1.3 trillion soums have already been recovered in the fight against corrupt schemes, and 55 individuals have been detained in connection with the uncovered cases.

As an example, he cited the situation within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where 186 billion soums of budget funds were misappropriated in the course of government procurement. In this regard, criminal proceedings have been initiated against former Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and Head of the Department of Public Security, Major General Bekmurod Abdullayev, and former Head of the Department of Penitentiary Services Rustam Tursunov.

The president stressed the need for a critical review of the performance of officials responsible for security within state agencies and enterprises.

He also highlighted the issue of the age composition of leadership: despite the established service age limits in the law enforcement system—55 years for colonels and 60 years for generals—over 300 employees who have exceeded these limits continue to hold leadership positions. By contrast, all senior staff in the Ministry of Emergency Situations are under 50 years old.

“We need a cadre of young leaders with a high level of professional competence and exacting standards,” stated Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

He emphasized the importance of appointing young personnel to managerial positions while utilizing the experience of older employees as mentors, instructors, or through mentoring systems to train young professionals at the local level.