Tag Archives: corruption

Arrest of former Azerbaijani MP exposes endemic corruption

FEB. 15 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – At a secretly taped meeting in 2005, Azerbaijani MP Gular Ahmadova allegedly offered to guarantee the rector of a Baku university a seat in parliament in return for a $2m bribe.

At the time Ms Ahmadova was considered a relatively high-flying member of the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan party, the political party of the all-powerful President Ilham Aliyev.

Corruption is endemic in Azerbaijan. Transparency International ranked the country at 139 out of 174 in its 2012 Corruption Perception Index, next to Nigeria and Pakistan.

Even so, when the video of Ms Ahmadova offering a bribe was aired last year it caused a major stir and she was sacked from parliament.

Now, media have reported that police have arrested Ms Ahmadova for abuse of public office and embezzlement. This is rare in Azerbaijan and her court case will be eagerly watched.

The issue is far deeper, though. The opposition media in Azerbaijan have reported that she was operating on behalf of a more senior government official.

Ms Ahmaova’s case, many analysts suspect, is just a small insight into corruption running through Azerbaijan. On the same day as her arrest, media also reported that police had arrested two employees of the Ministry of Taxes for taking a $250,000 bribe in an unrelated case.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 124, published on Feb. 15 2013)

Georgian prosecutors accuse mayor of corruption

FEB. 5 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgian prosecutors accused the mayor of Tbilisi, Gigi Ugulava, of organising a fake job scheme which siphoned $3.25 million from the city’s budget into the coffers of the United National Movement party (UNM), the political party of President Mikheil Saakashvili. UNM officials says they have been unfairly harassed by prosecutors since losing a parliamentary election in October.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 123, published on Feb. 8 2013)

TeliaSonera CEO resigns due to Uzbek corruption incident

FEB. 1 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Lars Nyberg, CEO of TeliaSonera, resigned after a report by a law firm concluded the Swedish telecoms giant had failed to do proper due diligence before buying an Uzbek 4G licence from a Gibraltar-registered firm in 2007. Media reports have since linked the Gibraltar firm to the eldest daughter of the Uzbek president.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 123, published on Feb. 8 2013)

Georgia accuses mayor of corruption

FEB. 1 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgian prosecutors accused the mayor of Tbilisi, Gigi Ugulava, of organising a fake job scheme which siphoned $3.25 million from the city’s budget into the coffers of the United National Movement party (UNM), the political party of President Mikheil Saakashvili. UNM officials says they have been unfairly harassed by prosecutors since losing a parliamentary election in October.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 123, published on Feb. 8 2013)

TeliaSonera denies Uzbekistan corruption incident

JAN. 8 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Anders Narvinger, chairman of TeliaSonera, again denied that the Swedish telecoms company had bribed the Uzbek president’s family to win a lucrative 3G operating contract. Email evidence submitted in court, media reported, suggested TeliaSonera had paid a Gibraltar- registered company linked to the Uzbek president’s daughter for the contract.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 119, published on Jan. 11 2013)

Incestigations continue on TeliaSonera’s 3G license in Uzbekistan

DEC. 12 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Prosecutors investigating a deal in 2007 by Swedish telecoms company TeliaSonera to buy a 3G licence in Uzbekistan through a Gibraltar- registered company linked to the daughter of Uzbek president Islam Karimov have interviewed two of the company’s employees, media reported. TeliaSonera has denied any wrong-doing.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 117, published on Dec. 14 2012)

Kazakh and Uzbek culture of corruption emerges, again

DEC. 12 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp sacked three executives for their role in alleged bribe paying in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to win contracts, media reported. The news once again highlights a culture of corruption that still exists in Central Asia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 117, published on Dec. 14 2012)

Kazakhstan falls in corruption rankings

DEC. 7 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – It is dry, that’s for sure, but Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index is also a decent benchmark of how countries are dealing with corruption in their systems — an issue that foreign investors, local businessmen, politicians and economists follow closely.

The 2012 edition makes for interesting reading on Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

Topping the table for the region is, again, Georgia at 51st place in the 176 country list. Armenia is next at 105th position, alongside the likes of the Philippines and Mexico.

Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan occupy 133 position with Russia and then follows Kyrgyzstan (154) and Tajikistan (157). Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan prop up the table in 170th position. Behind them lie only Somalia, North Korea, Sudan, Afghanistan and Myanmar.

And the big changes from last year? Well, Georgia continues to rise through the ranks, it was placed in 64th position last year, and Armenia has also jumped forward, from 129th in 2011. Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan have also improved their rankings, slightly.

Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have remained fairly consistent.

By comparison, though, the biggest faller from the Central Asia and South Caucasus region was Kazakhstan which fell 13 places in the rankings from 120th position in 2011.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 116, published on Dec. 7 2012)

Kyrgyz police arrests Tashbayev for corruption

DEC. 3 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz police arrested the former head of its national resource agency, Uchkunbek Tashbayev, for bribe taking and embezzlement, media reported. The case, once again, demonstrates corruption in Kyrgyzstan. Mining is one of the few sectors in Kyrgyzstan that generates a sizable income for the economy.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 116, published on Dec. 7 2012)

Kyrgyz police arrests anti-drugs head

Nov. 13 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Police arrested the head of south Kyrgyzstan’s anti-drugs unit, Eldar Kudaiberdiyev, for bribe- taking, media reported. The arrest underlines the extent of corruption in Kyrgyzstan. This year a ruling parliamentary coalition collapsed, partly because of corruption allegations.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 113, published on Nov. 16 2012)