A group of depositors of Tajprombank, which is still being liquidated for already five years, has asked the leadership of the country help them get their money back.

A video message sent to Asia-Plus has been sent to President Emomali Rahmon, Chairwoman of President’s Executive Office Ozoda Rahmon and Chairman of the Majlisi Milli (Tajikistan’s upper chamber of parliament) Rustam Emomali.  

The message authors complain that liquidators of the bank have not returned their savings for already five years. 

According to them, they are now in a difficult situation -- many of them are over 70 and they can't even buy the bare necessities of food and medicine. 

The message, in particular, notes that the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT), the Ministry of Finance and the Agency for Social Insurance and Pensions have already received their money back with interest. 

The depositors say they have applied to various structures and authorities over these years, but no one helped them.  

The message authors complain that the Prosecutor-General’s Office did not even recognize them as victims, while the bank’s special administrators (the former and the current) work only in their own interests. 

Founded in October 1995 as an all-purpose retail bank, Tajprombank, with headquarters in Dushanbe, had 21 branches, 11 departments and 15 money-transfer offices across the country.  The controlling shares of the company were held by the bank head Jamshed Ziyoyev.

Assets on Tajprombank’s books included dozens of offices and an unspecified number of residential properties.

Signs the lender was in distress began to emerge in 2015.  In the middle of 2016, Ziyoyev was removed as head of the bank, which was placed under crisis administration.  In December the same year, the National Bank declared it was refinancing Tajprombank to the tune of 450 million somonis and reappointed Ziyoyev to his old job and ordered him to restore the lender to health.  The bailout money was raised through the emission of somoni-denominated sovereign bonds that were converted into liquid cash by the National Bank.

But then two months later, the National Bank performed yet another about-face and decided to shutter Tajprombank, together with another recipient of bailout funds, Fononbank.

Tajprombank reportedly had over the years accumulated a number of high-stakes delinquent debtors.

One such person, Jamshed Abdulov, a businessman involved in the cotton industry, was detained by authorities over unpaid debts, according to Eurasianet.  Two companies belonging to him – Cotton Textile and Olim Textile – collectively owed Tajprombank 39 million somonis.  After paying off his liabilities in the form of solid assets, Abdulov was reportedly released on bail.

Eurasianet says sources familiar with the situation have told that companies affiliated to Ziyoyev and his son owed US$13 million to the bank.

Tajprombank reportedly also has liabilities before the state — $13 million with the Finance Ministry and another $15 million with the National Bank.  Under Tajik law, the bank is required to settle its debts to the state before it pays out retail customers.

By ruling handed down by Dushanbe Economic Court the bank liquidation process began in March 2018.  Assets on Tajprombank’s books have been estimated at 450 million somonis and the total amount of the bank liabilities reportedly amounted to some 550 million somonis.

In 2019, Jamshed Ziyoyev returned 100 million somonis (equivalent to some 10 million U.S. dollars) in a form of property.  This money was supposed to go to pay off debts to depositors. 

In December 2020, a court in Dushanbe’s Sino district sentenced Jamshed Ziyoyev to 8 years and six months in prison.  The sentence reportedly followed his conviction on charges of embezzlement (Article 245 of Tajikistan’s Penal Code), fraud (Article 247), document forgery (Article 340) and abuse of authority by employees of commercial and other organizations (Article 295).

The NBT head Hokim Kholiqzoda stated at a meeting with reporters on the sidelines of a regular sitting of Tajikistan’s lower house (Majisi Namoyandagon) of parliament on December 8 last year that the debt of Tajprombank to its private depositors has decreased to 40 million somonis 

“To-date, Tajprombank has repaid more than 200 million somonis to its customers,” said NBT head.  “I am sure that this issue will be completely resolved within the next few years.”

“The remaining debt will be repaid in stages as the property of the bank in liquidation is sold,” Kholiqzoda noted.