Tajikistan’s lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of parliament has endorsed the bill proposing amendments to the country’s law on prevention of corruption.

A regular sitting of the Majlisi Namoyandagon, presided over by its head, Shukurjon Zuhurov, took place on April 26.

Presenting the bill to lawmakers, Sulaimon Sultonzoda, Director of the Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption, noted that the amendments had been made for the purpose of bringing the corruption prevention law into compliance with the national corruption prevention strategy designed for 2013-2020.

According to him, the amendments are aimed at setting up the mechanism of assessing corruption risks in public institutions.

“The ministries and agencies will have to submit the corruption risk assessment reports to the Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption every year,” Sultonzoda said.  

Groups for assessing corruption risks will be set up at each of ministries and agencies and members of these groups will include officers of the anticorruption agency, Tajik chief anticorruption officer added.

The session took place against the backdrop of the arrest of a number of senior officers of the anticorruption agency, who according to some sources are accused of corruption.        

After the parliament session, journalists asked Sultonzoda to comment on the recent arrest of the anticorruption officers.  The anticorruption agency director refused to comment on that subject justifying his refusal by saying that it was “classified information.”

Recall, 17 officers of the anticorruption agency, including former deputy director Davlatbek Khairzoda, the head of the agency organization and inspection directorate Jamoliddin Muhammadzoda and the chief of the agency investigative directorate Firouz Kholmurodov, were arrested on April 24.  According to some sources, they face charges of document forgery and abuse of power.

Meanwhile, the anticorruption agency has disavowed those officers saying on April 25 that they were sacked a week ago.