Uzbekistan Approves Vetting Process for Former Officials

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The Ministry of Justice of Uzbekistan has registered a document establishing the procedure for obtaining a clearance from internal anti-corruption control units when hiring former government employees in cases specified by law.

The document was developed in accordance with the Law on Conflict of Interest. Under its requirements, if a former employee of a state body or organization seeks employment within two years of resignation at an organization previously under their oversight, the new employer must obtain a clearance from the anti-corruption unit at the candidate's former workplace.

To initiate this process, the human resources department of the hiring organization must submit a formal request to the internal anti-corruption control unit within one working day.

Following the review of the request, the unit can issue a positive clearance, a positive clearance with restrictions, or a negative clearance. A positive clearance allows the candidate to be hired. If restrictions are applied, employment is permitted only if the specified conditions are met. A negative clearance completely rules out the possibility of employment.

The document also stipulates that the absence of a clearance or the receipt of a negative clearance serves as grounds for prohibiting the employment of a former government official.

If a positive clearance with restrictions is issued, the employee is prohibited for three months from participating in decision-making processes related to the organization they previously oversaw.

Furthermore, their official duties must be reassigned to eliminate any potential conflict of interest, and their professional activities will be subject to monitoring by the internal anti-corruption control unit.

If the former government employee disagrees with the issued clearance, they have the right to appeal it to a higher authority or to the Anti-Corruption Agency.