Uzbekistan creates electronic registry of corrupt individuals

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Law No. ZRU-1155 has been adopted in Uzbekistan, aimed at radically strengthening the system for combating official and economic crimes. The document introduces systemic changes to several legislative acts simultaneously, including the Criminal Code, the Code on Administrative Responsibility, and the Law "On Countering Corruption."

One of the key innovations is the official approval of a clear list of corruption articles in the Criminal Code. This list includes misappropriation and embezzlement (paragraph "d", part 3 of Article 167), fraud (paragraph "g", part 4 of Article 168), commercial bribery, abuse of power, receiving, giving, and mediating bribery (Articles 210–212), as well as a number of other official crimes.

Article 243 of the Criminal Code (legalization of criminal proceeds) is now also officially recognized as a corruption crime if the laundered funds were obtained as a result of corruption schemes. In addition, the law completely prohibits the application of parole to those convicted of embezzlement or fraud if they have not compensated for the damage caused to the state or citizens in full.

A resonant step was the introduction of the Electronic Registry of Persons Found Guilty of Committing Corruption Crimes. Data on corrupt individuals will be entered into the database by the Ministry of Internal Affairs within three working days after a court sentence enters into force and will be stored there until the criminal record is cleared.

Inclusion in this list entails strict, lifelong or long-term restrictions, which include:

a total ban on entering public service and nominating as a candidate for elected positions;

a ban on receiving state awards;

deprivation of the right to hold leadership positions in universities, schools, and companies with a state share of over 50%;

a ban on participating in state procurement and PPP projects for businesses controlled by the registry figure (with an ownership share exceeding 50%).

The law also introduces new economic filters. The Code on Administrative Responsibility now fixes fines for officials up to 30 base calculating quantities (BCQ) for intentionally inflating the starting price of state procurement compared to the average market value.

On a systemic level, the Anti-Corruption Agency will begin forming interactive "corruption risk maps" by departments, sectors, and regions based on court statistics and public surveys.

For the effective detection of violations, the law has introduced unprecedented whistleblower protection measures. Disciplinary dismissal or punishment of an employee who reported corruption in their department is now completely frozen for two years — the employer is obliged to coordinate any sanctions against them preliminarily and directly with the Anti-Corruption Agency.

The law also provides for the creation of territorial anti-corruption councils and the mandatory opening of compliance control units in all state bodies.