In 2025, the highest number of corruption crimes were recorded in the ministries of health, preschool and school education, and local mayor offices, unveiled Akmal Burkhanov, chief of the Anti-Corruption Agency at a press conference in Tashkent on Friday.
According to him, while 5,716 corruption crimes were identified in 2024, the figure fell to 5,222 in 2025. This represents an 8.6% decrease.
The agency found that the number of corruption crimes increased in Fergana and Surkhandarya provinces in 2025. Meanwhile, a decrease was recorded in the Khorezm, Kashkadarya, Tashkent, and Samarkand provinces.
"Twelve district and city mayors have been held accountable for corruption," Akmal Burkhanov said, without specifying their names. — More than 300 corruption crimes were committed by local mayor offices. Moreover, the majority of them, that is, over 80%, are connected to the mayor's assistants. We have studied and analyzed this. Since there are many corruption-causing factors in this area, such crimes are committed more frequently here."
The chief of the Anti-Corruption Agency also reported that measures were being taken to allocate subsidies and preferential loans without human intervention—without reference to mayor assistants and the so-called "mahalla seven." These processes are planned to be fully digitalized.
"I believe that by 2026, we will be able to achieve a sharp reduction in the share of corruption crimes committed by mayor assistants," Burkhanov added.
According to him, last year, among mayor offices, the highest number of corruption crimes was recorded in Tashkent (612), Tashkent province (584), and Fergana province (455).
In 2025, the agency's review of 192 public procurements worth 673.3 billion soums found violations. Administrative measures were imposed on 14 individuals, and disciplinary sanctions were imposed on 12, with criminal cases opened in two cases.
At the end of December, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev called corruption a major threat to the country's development and announced a new anti-corruption control system, effective 2026. It will be implemented across all government agencies starting January 1. "Those who think, 'I have a position and a rank, no one can touch me are mistaken, he warned.
