Law enforcement agencies in Uzbekistan have successfully conducted targeted operations to root out corruption within the regional utility sectors. Joint efforts by the State Security Service and the Department for Combating Economic Crimes led to the arrest of several utility enterprise employees in the Namangan and Surkhandarya regions who were caught engaging in bribery and extortion.
In the Kosonsoy district of the Namangan region, authorities apprehended two engineers working for the local electric networks enterprise. The suspects abused their official positions to exploit a local entrepreneur. The business owner had recently installed a 50-kilowatt solar panel system at a building belonging to his limited liability company. The engineers demanded a bribe of 17 million UZS in exchange for processing and approving the necessary technical specifications and documentation for the solar installation. Law enforcement officers caught the two engineers red-handed as they were receiving the illicit funds, securing undeniable material evidence of their crime.
A separate anti-corruption operation took place in the Surkhandarya region, targeting fraudulent activities within the local gas supply infrastructure. An employee of the Uzuntumangaz gas supply department was detained for attempting to illegally resolve a citizen's utility debt. The citizen, born in 1977, had accumulated a debt of 23 million UZS due to a malfunctioning gas meter. Instead of following standard legal procedures, the gas department employee offered to wipe the debt clean and avoid drafting an official violation report in exchange for a 5 million UZS bribe.
The suspect was intercepted by security forces while accepting the bribe money through a third-party intermediary. Further investigation into the incident revealed that the illegal scheme was not an isolated effort. Authorities discovered that a colleague of the suspect, born in 1988, was also directly involved in orchestrating the fraudulent debt-clearing operation. Both individuals are now facing severe legal consequences for their actions.
These operations highlight the ongoing commitment of state authorities to eliminate corruption at all levels of public service. Criminal cases have been officially initiated against all the offenders involved in both the Namangan and Surkhandarya incidents. Investigative teams are currently conducting thorough inquiries to uncover any additional details or potential accomplices connected to these utility fraud schemes.
Read “Zamin” on Telegram!
