Embezzlement and financial irregularities totaling 53 trillion soums have been uncovered, with damages from corruption schemes totaling 4.2 trillion soums, the President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced at the urgent government meeting today.
"Remember: strict oversight will be established for every soum of public funds. Accountability will be inevitable, and punishment will be severe!" he emphasized.
According to him, the compliance and anti-corruption control system recently implemented in the Presidential Administration and government agencies has uncovered serious violations: 53 trillion soums in budget revenues, embezzlement, and financial irregularities, and over $8 billion in debts in foreign trade transactions.
As part of the anti-corruption efforts, damages amounting to 4.2 trillion soums have been identified, of which 1.3 trillion soums have been recovered to date. Fifty-five people have been detained in connection with these incidents.
As an example, the president cited the situation within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where 186 billion soums of budget funds were discovered to have been misappropriated during public procurement.
He confirmed that criminal proceedings had been opened against the Deputy Interior Minister/chief of the Department of Public Security, Major General Bekmurod Abdullayev, and the chief of the Department of Corrections, Rustam Tursunov.
The head of state noted that it was big time to critically review the activities of officials responsible for security matters in government agencies and enterprises.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev pointed out that while the established age limit for service in the law enforcement system is 55 for colonels and 60 for generals, more than 300 employees over this age currently continue to hold leadership positions.
Meanwhile, all senior personnel within the Ministry of Emergency Situations are under 50 years old.
"We need a corps of young leaders with a high level of professional competence and high standards," the president stated.
He emphasized the importance of appointing young people to leadership positions, as well as using the experience of retirement-age employees as mentors and teachers, or creating a mentoring system to work with young people at the local level.
