Court trial on ex-khokim of Andijan city begins in Fergana

Of the 44 defendants, 29 are men and 15 are women. Of these, 34 were placed under arrest. 

According to the preliminary conclusion of law enforcement officers, the defendants stole more than 63 billion soums. 

The above persons are accused of violating Articles 167 (theft by embezzlement), 168 (fraud), 207 (malfeasance), 209 (forgery), 210 (bribery), 28/210, 211 (bribery), 28/ 211 (attempt to give a bribe) and 243 (legalization of proceeds derived from criminal activity) of the Criminal Code. 

The criminal case is considered in the court of first instance. An investigation is currently underway and the trial is ongoing. 

On June 7 of this year, the khokim of Andijan city Bakhromjon Khaydarov was detained. The ex-khokim is suspected of embezzling 48 billion soums from the state budget, along with accomplices, during his tenure as head of the regional finance department. 

As of May, as part of the investigation by the Prosecutor General’s Office, 37 defendants were charged, 32 of whom were detained, 23 percent of the damage was covered. The investigation is being conducted by the PGO Department for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption. 

It should be recalled that in December last year, the prosecutor of Andijan region, Gayrat Fozilov, was dismissed. In January, Sirojiddin Eshkuvvatov was appointed to this position.

After the dismissal of the former regional prosecutor and the appointment of a new prosecutor, the former and current heads of the Andijan regional department of public education were taken into custody in February. About 40 more people were brought to justice on the case of embezzlement of 57 billion soums.

Azizbek Mirkomilov, the former head of the Andijan regional department of public education, is suspected of embezzling 48 billion soums from the budget, which earlier led to the detention of the Andijan city khokim. 

In February, it turned out that officials of Andijan city were suspected of embezzling 57 billion soums from the state budget. Kun.uz,   relying on the data of its sources, reported that the former and current heads of the department, Sunbula Eraliyeva and Nuriddin Nazarov, were detained. Currently, the number of those under investigation is approaching 40.