DUSHANBE, July 25, 2008, Asia-Plus -- The anticorruption agency director Sherkhon Salimzoda told a press conference in Dushanbe on July 24 that seven employees of the Ministry of Health (MoH) face charges of misappropriation of state funds.  

According him, among them are the head of the MoH directorate for capital construction and chief accountant with this directorate.  Criminal proceedings instituted against them have been investigated and have already moved to courts.  

“The investigation has established that funds provided from the national budget for construction of medical facilities and purchase of medical equipment have been cashed through various private firms and misappropriated,” Salimzoda said, noting that damage caused by those corrupt officials to the country’s economy has amounted to more than 1.052 million somonis.