KHUJAND, August 4, 2011, Asia-Plus -- G.A., a teacher at Khujand-based Tajik University of Economics and Trade, has been detained for bribery.

The source at the Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption’s office in Sughd, says the corrupt teacher was caught rend-handed on August 3 while taking a bribe of US$800 from university entrant.

Criminal proceedings have been instituted against G.A. under the provisions of Article 247 (3) of Tajikistan’s Penal Code – large scale fraud.  An investigation is under way.

According to the data from the anticorruption agency’s office in Sughd, 30 cases of fraud have been reported in northern Tajikistan over the first six months of this year, which is ten cases more than in the same period last year.

Five university teachers have reportedly been detained in northern Tajikistan for bribery over the past month; however, bribery charges have been officially brought against only one of them, while the remaining four corrupt teachers have faced the fraud and extortion charges.

Commenting on this station, Qutbiddin Safarov, the deputy chief of the anticorruption agency’s office in Sughd, noted the criminal proceedings under the provisions of Article 319 (acceptance of a bribe by a public official) are instituted only against public officers such as chancellors, vice-chancellors, deans and vice-deans, while ordinary teachers usually face the fraud charge.