DUSHANBE, February 8, Asia-Plus - Rahmatjon Hasanov, an official with the Dushanbe customs directorate, has been arrested on suspicion of having got money by fraud.   

In 1998, when he served as chief of the customs control point Dushanbe-2 Rahmatjon Hasanov jointly with Taghoygul Sadulloyeva dealt with purchase/sale of cotton yarn.  Hasanov borrowed from her $13,000 and has not returned the money.  

Dushanbe prosecutor Qurbonali Muhabbatov said in an interview with Asia-Plus that Sadulloyeva had repeatedly applied on this subject to the law enforcement agencies in the late Nineties.  “However, for some reason criminal proceedings have not been instituted against Hasanov,” the prosecutor said.  

“This year, Ms. Sadulloyeva applied to the Dushanbe prosecutor’s office and after thorough investigation Hasanov was detained on suspicion of having got money by fraud,” Muhabbatov said, noting Hasanov faces charges under Article 247, Part 4 of the country’s Criminal Code (Fraud). 

In the meantime, Gourez Zaripov, chief of Tajikistan’s Customs Service, confirmed in an exclusive interview with Asia-Plus that “separate cases of corruption are to be observed among customs officers.”   According to him, bureaucratic and unclear procedures of drawing up customs documents, conflicting legislative documents and customs norms as well as low wages have created a breeding ground for corruption.