DUSHANBE, May 21, 2013, Asia-Plus -- Charges have been officially brought against Zayd Saidov and he was transferred to a temporary detention facility.

“Charges were officially brought against Zayd Saidov Monday evening and he was transferred to the temporary holding facility,” one of Saidov’s lawyers, Shuhrat Qudratov, told Asia-Plus in an interview.

“Only one article is mentioned in the detention protocol: Article 319 (4) of Tajikistan’s Penal Code – large-scale bribe-taking,” said the lawyer.  “Zayd Saidov is currently at the temporary holding facility of the Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption.”

We will recall that the statement, released by the anticorruption agency, noted that Zayd Saidov was suspected of having committed grave economic crimes during the time when he was minister of industry.  Zayd Saidov reportedly faced charges under the provisions of three articles of Tajikistan’s Penal Code: Article 319 (4) – large-scale bribe-taking; Article 247 (4) – fraud committed through the misuse of powers; and Article 314 – abuse of office.  According to the statement, these facts were revealed during the preliminary investigation into the case of Tajik tycoon Nizomkhon Jourayev (the so-called “Isafrans’ Case”).

During a confrontation held on May 20, ex-director of the Isfara chemical plant, Nizomkhon Jourayev, reportedly said that he gave a bribe of US$100,000 to Zayd Saidov in 2005.