In Uzbekistan, the number of bribery crimes by public officials has decreased, but cases of embezzlement of budget funds and abuse of office have become more frequent, the Director of the Anti-Corruption Agency Akmal Burkhanov said on October 17 at the 4th anti-corruption forum in Tashkent.

According to him, until 2019, the bulk of crimes were cases of giving and receiving bribes, but now they make up less than 10% of all corruption-related crimes.

“But, unfortunately, new forms of corruption have emerged, such as embezzlement of budget funds, fraud and abuse of office,” Burkhanov underscored. The decrease in the number of bribery cases is due to the digitalization of public services, thanks to which more than 400 services are provided to the population online, without the human factor," he said.

Referring to statistics, the head of the Anti-Corruption Agency reported that more than 6,000 corruption crimes were committed in 2022, and in 2023 their number decreased by 12%.

"10 years, 5 years or 3 years ago, officials also committed corruption crimes, and measures were taken against them in accordance with the established procedure, but in the past, information about corruption crimes of high-ranking officials was often not disclosed, and today each case is announced publicly, regardless of the person and rank of the officials," he said.

Akmal Burkhanov also underscored that the Conflict of Interest Law, signed by the president in June 2024, is an important measure aimed at preventing nepotism, nepotism and conflicts of interest among civil servants.

"If this law is put into practice after its effect, the level of corruption among high-ranking civil servants will decrease sharply,” he believes.

In addition, a bill is being developed with amendments to the Criminal Code, which will toughen penalties for corruption crimes. The bill proposes that those convicted of bribery will serve their full sentence without probation or parole to be applied or to hold public office again.

Earlier, Akmal Burkhanov reported that in Uzbekistan, 566 persons convicted of corruption were re-hired in the civil service and committed such crimes again. By the end of September, it was planned to submit for consideration a bill on the introduction of a register of corrupt officials, which has been discussed since 2021.