Corruption in Uzbekistan
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Corruption in Uzbekistan is a serious problem. There are laws in place to prevent corruption, but enforcement in terms of laws regarding corruption is very weak. Low prosecution rates of corrupt officials is another contributing factor to the rampant corruption in
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...
. It is not a criminal offense for a non-public official to influence the discretion of a public official. The judicial system faces severe functional deficits due to limited resources and corruption. In Uzbekistan, corruption is present at virtually every level of society, business, and government. It is also one of the world's most corrupt countries, and among the contributory factors is its possessing the second largest economy in
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, its large reserves of natural gas, and its geographical position between the rival powers of the so-called
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. Transparency International's 2021
Corruption Perceptions Index The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is an index which ranks countries "by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys." The CPI generally defines corruption as an "abuse of entru ...
ranks the country in 140th place out of 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked 180 is perceived to have the most corrupt public sector. “Graft and bribery among low and mid-level officials are part of everyday life and are sometimes even transparent,” states
Freedom House Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wil ...
, which adds that the ubiquity of corruption helps to “limit equality of opportunity.” A 2015 report by
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
quotes a businessman who was arrested and tortured in 2011, as saying that corruption in Uzbekistan is a “cancer that had spread everywhere.”


Corruption in government

Bribery Bribery is the Offer and acceptance, offering, Gift, giving, Offer and acceptance, receiving, or Solicitation, soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With reg ...
,
nepotism Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, an ...
, and
extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...
are common throughout the Uzbek public sector.


Presidential power

Uzbek artist Vyacheslav Okhunov told ''
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'' in 2015 that the late Islam Karimov, then Uzbekistan's president, was "a dictator" who exhibited Mafioso tendencies. Karimov has been accused of ruling Uzbekistan with an iron fist for a quarter-century, shaping a culture that "has a greater resemblance to
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than
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." Critics have sardonically noted that there is almost no televised news broadcast that does not feature Karimov "cutting a ribbon for some new facility somewhere". According to the Heritage Foundation, Karimov's absolute power extended to judicial appointments.
Freedom House Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wil ...
has reported that Karimov exercised total power over the legislature, which acts as a " rubber stamp" that approved Karimov's decisions. The group states that Karimov's virtually absolute power allowed him to exploit every sphere of activity in his country for personal economic benefit. Even after his death in office, Karimov's influence has remained firm enough to allow his handpicked successor, Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev, to be acting President pending the Presidential by-election in blatant disregard to the Constitution, which places that responsibility at the hands of the President of the Senate.


Gulnara Karimova telecom corruption scandal

The president's daughter, Gulnara Karimova, has (like the president himself) been associated with large-scale corruption. A
Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...
criminal investigation begun in 2012 was directed at first against four Uzbek citizens who had connections to Karimova. Two of them were arrested that year and released on bail. Also in 2012, a Swedish
television documentary Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. *Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...
stated that a Swedish
telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
company,
TeliaSonera AB Telia Company AB is a Swedish Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company and mobile network operator present in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Telia also owns TV4 Media which includes T ...
, had paid $320 million to Takilant (a
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-based shell company reportedly linked to Karimova) in exchange for licenses and frequencies in Uzbekistan. In January 2013,
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investigators released new documents apparently showing that TeliaSonera had tried to negotiate directly with Karimova. In the same year, U.S. and Dutch authorities began investigating Karimova. In February 2014, the chief executive of TeliaSonera was forced to resign after serious failures of
due diligence Due diligence is the investigation or exercise of care that a reasonable business or person is normally expected to take before entering into an agreement or contract with another party or an act with a certain standard of care. It can be a l ...
were uncovered. In May, the Swedish media made documents public that suggested Karimova had aggressively dictated the terms of the TeliaSonera contract and threatened it with obstructions. Related money-laundering investigations in Switzerland and Sweden continued throughout the year, and hundreds of millions of dollars in accounts connected to the case being frozen by authorities. In March 2014, Swiss authorities began a money-laundering investigation into Karimova, and prosecutors in
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said that the evidence had led their investigation into Sweden and
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and that they had "seized assets in excess of 800 million Swiss francs ($912 million)." According to Swiss newspaper ''
Le Temps ''Le Temps'' (literally "The Time") is a Swiss French-language daily newspaper published in Berliner format in Geneva by Le Temps SA. It is the sole nationwide French-language non-specialised daily newspaper of Switzerland. Since 2021, it has b ...
'', of the seized funds 500 million francs of the seized funds involved TeliaSonera and the remained "involved Karimova's personal assets." In 2014, the
United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
(DOJ) and the
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(SEC) investigated TeliaSonera as well as the
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
-based Vimpelcom Ltd. and the
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n firm Mobile TeleSystems PJSC (MTS) on suspicion that these three firms had funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to firms controlled by Karimova. An August 2015 report stated that U.S. prosecutors were asking authorities in
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
,
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,
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, Sweden, and Switzerland to seize assets of about $1 billion in connection with their investigation.
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reported in January 2015 that executives at the Norwegian telecom firm Telenor, which owns one-third of Vimpelcom, had knowledge about millions in bribes. In March 2015, DOJ asked Sweden to freeze $30 million in funds held by the
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-based
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. The DOJ probe discovered that firms had "paid bribes to Uzbek officials to obtain mobile telecommunications business in Uzbekistan." European investigators revealed that Takilant was run by a former Karimova aide. A July 2015 report stated that U.S. authorities were seeking to seize $300 million in bank accounts in Ireland, Luxembourg and Belgium, alleging that the funds were bribes paid to Karimova. In August 2015, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that Uzbek authorities had arrested nine suspects in connection with probes, including two top executives at a
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...
bottling plant in Uzbekistan, which Karimova formerly owned.


Corruption in elections

"There are no free elections in Uzbekistan," according to Freedom House. In the April 2015 election, Karimov received 90.39% of the vote, winning a fourth term, although the constitution restricts presidents to two terms. Election observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe were critical of the conduct of the election, and Steve Swerdlow of
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
called it a “sham.”


Judiciary

Corruption is widespread in Uzbekistan's judiciary. The judiciary system is officially independent, but corruption is rampant, and the law actually allows certain kinds of government interference and “equivocation.” Public officials, lawyers, and judges often “interpret local legislation inconsistently and in conflict with each other.” Corruption is a standard feature of legal proceedings, mainly in conflicts between firms. Judges are said to take bribes and kickbacks from individuals and companies in exchange for favorable verdicts. The judiciary is under the control of the executive, is riddled with
nepotism Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, an ...
, favoritism, and kickbacks, and is characterized by “unreliable and non-transparent” appeals processes. “
Bribery Bribery is the Offer and acceptance, offering, Gift, giving, Offer and acceptance, receiving, or Solicitation, soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With reg ...
, abuse of office and vague interpretation of laws” result in unfair decisions. In commercial cases, courts reportedly favor local companies over foreign firms. Courts are also alleged to address corruption charges against high-level officials only on presidential orders. Although the judicial system is required to uphold “investor rights and the sanctity of contracts,” in practice it is said to regularly favor "state-owned or government-affiliated entities.” Court procedures in Uzbekistan, states the Heritage Foundation, "fall short of international standards, and powerful figures can expropriate property with impunity". In addition, private property can be confiscated by the government for no reason, with no system for registering liens on
chattel Chattel may refer to: * Chattel, an alternative name for tangible personal property * A chattel house, a type of West Indian dwelling * A chattel mortgage, a security interest over tangible personal property * Chattel slavery, the most extreme form ...
in place.


Criminal justice system

According to Amnesty International, corruption is ingrained in Uzbekistan's justice system.
Torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...
(in the form of "beatings, asphyxiation, rape and sexual assault") is a widely used by law enforcement and the authorities. Torture is used to " extract confessions, to intimidate entire families or to extract bribes." Family members are tortured to extract confessions and "on the basis of these confessions, orture survivorshave been sentenced to long terms in prison after unfair trials." The Uzbekistani National Security Service has been reported to have engaged in torture.


Police

Corruption within the Uzbek police force has been described as "pervasive." Extortion is common, and police regularly use false charges to dissuade anyone from reporting their corruption crimes to higher bureaus. A 2014 report stated that police corruption had risen recently owing to the currency exchange market coming under the control of known criminal groups.


Public services

Corruption is common in the public-services sector. Civil servants are low-paid and thus included to solicit and extort bribes, according to the ''Business Anti-Corruption Portal''. Officials extort payments from companies in connection with the granting of permits and licenses, and “use arbitrary inspections and punitive sanctions to harass companies, to interfere with their business operations and to reduce market competition.”


Land administration

Judicial corruption prevents the protection or enforcement of property rights. The ''Business Anti-Corruption Portal'' reports that the state routinely expropriates private property, providing opportunities for extortion and corruption.


Forced labor

While over 2-3 million Uzbeks (mostly university students as a full-time workers for over 3 months, teachers, professors, doctors as a part-time for over 3 months) “were forced to work on
cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
fields” during the 2014 harvest, according to the
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) is a global network of investigative journalists with staff on six continents. It was founded in 2006 and specializes in organized crime and corruption. It publishes its stories through ...
(OCCRP), officials were alleged to have embezzled substantial funds from the operation. “Impossibly high quotas were reportedly set, with workers forced to pay fines to make up the deficits.” The Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights called the quotas an 'unprecedented degree of extortion', as workers were made to continue their labor in exchange for food and housing.


Tax administration

Corruption is said to be common in the Uzbek tax administration. The vague and ambiguous tax laws allow for official corruption, often in the form of bribery and extortion at the expense of foreign companies. Firms involved in judicial disputes are subject to the seizure of assets by tax officials, according to the ''Business Anti-Corruption Portal''.


Customs administration

Uzbekistan's customs sector is riddled with corruption. Customs officials and border guards are reported to take bribes from smugglers, as a result of which the amount of smuggling increases annually. ;Tashkent customs arrests Several senior officials of the
Tashkent Province Tashkent Region ( uz, Toshkent viloyati, Тошкент вилояти, russian: Ташкентская область) is a viloyat (region) of Uzbekistan, located in the northeastern part of the country, between the Syr Darya River and the Tien ...
State Customs Committee were arrested on bribery charges in October 2014. They were accused of extorting bribes, participating in organized crime, and eliciting favors in exchange for employment at the customs offices. The fees for clearing goods across borders are arbitrary, and foreign firms say that customs restrictions are “among the most severe challenges to doing business in Uzbekistan.”


Public procurement

Corruption is ubiquitous in the public procurement sector, which is characterized by widespread conflicts of interest, a lack of transparency, and bribes being extorted in exchange for government contracts. There is a reported lack of transparency during the bidding for contracts from the government.


Foreign investment

According to anti-corruption groups, most of the foreign firms that are awarded profitable contracts have ties to Uzbekistan's ruling elite. Foreign firms, explains one source, "regularly experience expropriations, politically motivated inspections and discrimination by authorities" in Uzbekistan. According to the U.S. Department of State, foreign firms “have reported numerous procedural infractions in both the Economic and Criminal courts of Uzbekistan and the Embassy knows of a number of cases in which foreign companies did not receive timely payments from local partners." In the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
's 2013
Doing Business Report The ease of doing business index was an index created jointly by Simeon Djankov, Michael Klein, and Caralee McLiesh, three leading economists at the World Bank Group. The academic research for the report was done jointly with professors Edward Gla ...
, Uzbekistan stood at 149th out of 189 countries on the "Ease of Doing Business" scale. U.S. firms say that corruption is the prime obstruction to
foreign direct investment A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment in the form of a controlling ownership in a business in one country by an entity based in another country. It is thus distinguished from a foreign portfolio investment by a notion of direct co ...
in Uzbekistan. These firms cite a "lack of transparency in bureaucratic processes, including procurement tenders and auctions, and limited access to currency convertibility, stimulate rent-seeking, which public sector employees often justify by pointing out their low wages." To secure professional appointments, win government contracts, obtain exemptions from rules, escape criminal prosecution, receive public services, and earn preferences, bribery is a necessity, according to the U.S. Department of State. Many incidents of bribe solicitation have been reported to the U.S. Embassy, and "foreign investors who refuse to pay bribes have had difficulty in their business operations as a direct result." ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine reports that tenders and government jobs are easily attained through bribery, causing unqualified people to rise up in positions. The State Department cites several complaints from investors who state the bidding process lacks transparency. "In some cases, the bidders have been foreign-registered companies associated with influential Uzbek families who have tenuous foreign addresses." Also, the Uzbek state can cancel any business's registration or license or impose punitive sanctions at will. Ministries have the power to decide whether companies under their jurisdiction require licenses. The Economic Court can shutter businesses, which have the right of appeal, although the process is slow, unpredictable, and non-transparent. More profitable foreign firms are at a greater risk of expropriation, although smaller and less profitable firms are still at risk. Expropriations have occurred in several industries including food processing, mining, retail, and telecommunications. For eighteen months beginning in October 2011, the government prevented the production and distribution operations at a
brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...
owned by the Danish Carlsberg Group. In the same year, the government initiated the liquidation of the Amantaytau Goldfields, a joint venture involving a British firm, Oxus Gold. In September 2012, the Tashkent City Criminal Court found
Uzdunrobita Uzdunrobita was the largest mobile phone operator in Uzbekistan in the 1990s and 2000s. Uzdunrobita was founded on August 19, 1991, as a joint venture between a group of American investors, the International Communications Group, with a 45% stake; ...
, a cellular-phone firm wholly owned by the Russian company MTS, guilty of financial crimes, and seized its assets. Two months later an appeals court reversed this verdict, but upheld the $600 million of fines imposed on the firm. MTS left the market, writing off all of its assets in Uzbekistan, which amounted to $1.1 billion. In 2013, the government transferred these assets to a government-owned telecom firm. In 2013, government authorities began a criminal investigation into Muzimpex Company, the local partner of the Coca-Cola Company, which held a 43 percent stake in Muzimpex. In February 2014, the government liquidated Muzimpex and took it over.


Civil society

The Uzbek Constitution's guarantee of
press freedom Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerci ...
is effectively non-existent in practice, with almost all media operating under government control. Journalists who criticize the regime are reported to have been subject to "physical violence, prosecution, detention and fines," often on charges of
defamation Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
. Journalists who investigate corruption are supposedly compelled to self-censor to avoid trouble. Local civil-service organizations are prohibited from monitoring or reporting on corruption.


Anti-corruption

The nation's criminal code forbids "all major forms of corruption" but the ''Business Anti-Corruption Portal'' reports that this law is poorly enforced. High-ranking government officials are said to act with impunity. The presidential family itself is involved in several investigations internationally. Persons who report corruption are reportedly not protected from retaliation. Uzbekistan is a signatory of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the Istanbul Action Plan, but not the
OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions The OECD Anti-Bribery Convention (officially Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions) is an anti-corruption convention of the OECD that requires signatory countries to criminalize brib ...
. The government has been accused of neglecting any regional or local initiatives to combat seriously combat corruption. To date no international or local organizations have been granted permission to monitor or analyze corruption in Uzbekistan besides the General Prosecutor's Office, which is under the control of the Uzbek ruling regime. A number of officials are prosecuted every year under anti-corruption laws, with punishment varying "from a fine to imprisonment with confiscation of property." The defendants tend to be political dissenters, rather than any of the corrupt officials with ties to the ruling elite.


International tolerance of Uzbek corruption

Owing largely to its strategic location and its
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
supplies, many countries have been loath to pressure Uzbekistan to improve its corruption record. For example, despite his nation's high levels of corruption and human-rights violations, Karimov received a warm welcome from the President of the European Commission.
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
has been described as ignoring much of the Uzbek regime's corruption and violations, defying EU sanctions imposed in 2005 after the Andijan massacre in which anywhere from 200 to 1,500 people were killed, training Uzbek officers, and making annual payments to the Uzbek government in exchange for access to a military facility in Termiz. ''Der Spiegel'' suggested that the German government may foresee its relations with Uzbekistan as a means of profiting from planned natural gas pipelines under consideration of construction.


References


External links


Uzbekistan Corruption Profile
from the
Business Anti-Corruption Portal The Risk & Compliance Portal (formerly The Business Anti-Corruption Portal) is a powerhouse for business anti-corruption information offering tools on how to alleviate or reduce risks and costs of corruption when doing business abroad. All the inf ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uzbekistan, Corruption in
Corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
Corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
Corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
Corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
Corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
Corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...