Namangan deputy governor sentenced to 7.5 years for embezzlement and fraud

A court ruling has been issued against Saidakhmad Sultanov, who held positions as the Deputy Governor of Namangan Region responsible for industrial development, capital construction, communications, and public utilities. Kun.uz has reviewed the court documents.

According to the verdict, Saidakhmad Sultanov, without conducting tender processes or formalizing project documentation, handed over the construction of several internal roads in the region to "Namangan Qurilish Dizayn Savdo" LLC based on verbal instructions. By conspiring with the head of the LLC and others in advance, he facilitated the embezzlement of budget funds.

In particular, the criminal associates managed to embezzle nearly 15.5 billion UZS by falsely reporting work that was never carried out in four separate instances. In these four cases, Saidakhmad Sultanov handed over road construction projects to "Namangan Qurilish Dizayn Savdo" LLC without any proper documentation and ensured timely financing. For these "services," he received $10,000 in December 2021, $20,000 in November 2022, and another $20,000 in March 2023 from the head of the LLC as a share of the proceeds.

Additionally, even though Saidakhmad Sultanov was assigned a Captiva car from the Namangan Regional Governor's office, from July 2020 to December 2023, he used a Hyundai Tucson car belonging to the Namangan Regional Construction and Housing and Utilities Department for both official and personal purposes. During this period, he consumed 13,359 liters of gasoline, causing over 128 million UZS in damage to state and public interests.

Among Sultanov's misdeeds, there are also instances where he took money from entrepreneurs under the guise of sponsorship for the "Navbahor" football club but used it for personal purposes. For instance, in August 2023, he instructed the head of the "Engineering Company for the Construction of Water Supply and Sewerage Facilities" under the Namangan Regional Department to collect $30,000 from the heads of "Stroy Melio Montazh" and "Nasos Tamir" LLCs, each contributing $15,000. He then took this money and spent it on personal matters instead of transferring it to the football club.

Furthermore, it was revealed that from November 26, 2018, to October 20, 2020, while serving as the head of the Namangan Regional Construction Department, Saidakhmad Sultanov embezzled a large amount of budget funds.

Saidakhmad Sultanov has been found guilty by the court of committing crimes under Article 167, Part 3, Clause "a" (embezzlement or misappropriation on a large scale), Article 168, Part 4, Clause "a" (fraud on a large scale), and Article 205, Part 2, Clause "a" (abuse of power or official authority) of the Criminal Code. He has been sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison, with an additional 3-year prohibition on holding managerial and financially responsible positions in organizations with state participation, including the governor’s office.

For reference, Saidakhmad Sultanov was appointed as the Deputy Governor of Namangan Region responsible for industrial development, capital construction, communications, and public utilities in October 2020. On December 15, 2023, he was placed under arrest.