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RR RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHIK RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHNEH RUEHPOD
RUEHPW RUEHSK RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHNT #0511/01 1041308
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 141313Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0773
INFO ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
CIS COLLECTIVE
NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 0048
RUEHNT/AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
RUEHPS/USMISSION OEDC PARIS FR
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 0004
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 0202

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TASHKENT 000511 
 
SIPDIS SIPDIS 
INL FOR ANDREW BUHLER 
DEPT OF JUSTICE FOR ROB STAPLETON 
ANKARA FOR DEA CHRIS MELINK 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID EFIN KCOR SOCI PHUM LG UZ
SUBJECT: Uzbekistan:  Anti-Corruption Workshop Launches UN Convention 
Implementation Efforts 
 
REF: TASHKENT 257 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 
(UNODC), with funding support from the Bureau of International 
Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), conducted a workshop 
on March 31 - April 1 on implementation of the UN Convention 
Against Corruption.  International experts, including from the U.S. 
Department of Justice, presented how key concepts of the convention 
are implemented elsewhere to an audience of Uzbek government 
officials.  Deputy Prosecutor General Alisher Sharafutdinov 
highlighted Uzbekistan's 2008 decision to adopt the convention and 
made frank statements about the negative impact of corruption in 
Uzbekistan, the first time we have heard a high-ranking official 
even acknowledge the existence of corruption.  The Ambassador also 
took the opportunity to point out the likely role of corruption in 
the country's currency conversion and liquidity woes.  Recent press 
reports suggest that Uzbekistan is cracking down on egregious 
examples of corruption committed by its officials and taking its 
new international obligations seriously.  End summary. 
 
New Anti-Corruption Project Underway 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶2. (U) On March 31-April 1 the UNODC Regional Office in Central 
Asia launched a new anti-corruption project with a high-profile 
workshop event involving Uzbek officials and numerous international 
experts.  Approximately USD 300,000 (50 percent of the budget) is 
being provided by INL rule of law assistance funds, for which UNODC 
regional head James Callahan thanked the U.S. Embassy in his 
opening remarks.  The project is designed to promote effective 
implementation of the U.N. Convention Against Corruption, which 
Uzbekistan adopted in July 2008.  A visiting trial attorney from 
the U.S. Department of Justice was among the guest speakers, and 
his presentation about asset forfeiture was well received. 
 
Strong Statement by Deputy Prosecutor General 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------------- 
---- 
 
¶3. (U) Representatives of 12 key Uzbek government agencies were 
represented in the audience, led by Deputy Prosecutor General 
Alisher Sharafutdinov, who is known for his unusual candor but had 
kept a low public profile since his promotion from Deputy Minister 
of Internal Affairs last year.  In his opening remarks, 
Sharafutdinov acknowledged that "corruption is impeding the normal 
functioning and efficiency of our national economy" and added that 
it "disrupts the image" and "is a threat to the security of 
Uzbekistan."  Therefore, he continued, "ratification of the U.N. 
Convention will help establish a legal base against corruption and 
lead to improved legislation to counter this evil." 
Sharafutdinov's strong public statements were important for the 
Uzbek contingent to hear as they opened their notebooks to glean 
experiences from other countries.  The Ambassador echoed this in 
his own opening remarks but also drew a link between corruption and 
Uzbekistan's currency conversion delays and currency shortage, 
which is a major concern of the American Chamber of Commerce. 
 
National Action Plan Coming Soon 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶4. (U) Sharafutdinov stated that all government ministries are 
represented on an anti-corruption working group, which convened for 
the first time on September 16, 2008 under the chairmanship of the 
Office of the General Prosecutor.  The main short-term goal of the 
working group is to "devise a strategy for institutions in 
implementing the fight against corruption," which will be guided by 
a national action plan.  As part of this process, Sharafutdinov 
noted that the working group is interested in the experiences of 
other countries, which is why this UNODC event was important. 
"This will save us from reinventing the wheel," he added. 
Francesco Checchi, a Bratislava-based official from the UNDP, 
cautioned the Uzbeks that anti-corruption agencies tend to be 
plagued by limited resources and few trained staff.  Olga Zudova, a 
former prosecutor and now a Senior Legal Adviser at the Tashkent 
UNODC office, also warned that those who have profited from 
corruption have the resources to hire excellent defense teams and 
are often in a position to apply pressure to well-intentioned 
 
TASHKENT 00000511  002 OF 003 
 
 
prosecutors. 
 
Experience of Latvia Strikes a Chord 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶5. (U) Anti-corruption officials and experts from Latvia, Slovenia, 
Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, the USA, and international organizations 
delivered presentations about best practices and lessons learned. 
Diana Kurpniece, Head of Public Relations at the Latvian Bureau on 
Preventing and Combating Corruption struck a chord with the Uzbek 
officials since Latvia was in a similar position as Uzbekistan 
following the break-up of the USSR.  "If you take a rotten apple 
out of a bunch without changing the system, Kurpniece reported, 
"then other apples will also go rotten."  She cited the widening 
gulf between the two former Soviet republics on Transparency 
International's Corruption Perception Index, which in 2000 rated 
Latvia 3.4 and Uzbekistan 2.4.  Yet by 2008 Latvia had climbed to a 
5.0 -- admittedly still far from a perfect assessment -- whereas 
Uzbekistan sank further to a dismal 1.8.  One Kyrgyz audience 
member took good-natured exception to the two countries' 
similarities, noting that Baltic people are more inherently rule 
abiding than Central Asians "such that when the light turns red in 
Riga people stop regardless of whether no one is looking.  In 
Central Asia we would not stop, and this mindset makes it far 
easier for you to pass a law and expect most people to obey it." 
 
¶6. (U) Kurpniece's advice for Uzbekistan included publishing 
incomes, which she said is an effective way to promote 
transparency.  Kurpniece also described how Latvia's 
anti-corruption entity was given a wide mandate and independence 
while still being accountable to the Cabinet of Ministers.  She 
also highlighted the importance of a total prohibition on gifts -- 
even small trinkets -- as well as strict rules about moonlighting 
to prevent anti-corruption officials from having vested interests 
in entities that could be under their investigative purview.  She 
noted that the Kyrgyz anti-corruption agency had visited Latvia on 
a study tour and suggested that Uzbekistan consider doing the same. 
 
OECD Invites Uzbekistan to Join Anti-Corruption Network 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------------- 
---------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Olga Savran, an anti-corruption official from the 
Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), told 
poloff about a renewed effort to invite Uzbekistan to join the 
Istanbul Plan, which provides Russian-speaking countries with 
opportunities for peer review on anti-corruption measures.   She 
noted that Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan are all members 
but that Uzbekistan has always resisted (Turkmenistan declined 
based on its neutrality policy).  OECD sent a letter to Foreign 
Minister Norov prior to this event explaining the initiative and 
encouraging Uzbekistan to join, but in typical Uzbek fashion there 
was no response.  Savran asked the U.S. Embassy to raise this with 
our Uzbek Government interlocutors and hopefully bring them to the 
table.  (Note:  We will indeed raise this when the time is right. 
End note.) 
 
Kyrgyz Case 
-------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) A representative from the Kyrgyzstan Anti-corruption 
Commission described his country's efforts, noting that there was a 
new initiative that began in 2005 "after the revolution."  Like 
Uzbekistan, a national action plan was adopted to guide 
implementation efforts.  "We've proven there is political will" to 
fight corruption, he said, but added that they want to focus more 
on prevention activities than punishment.  He said Kyrgyzstan 
learned that "some corruption goes away with higher salaries." 
Nonetheless, he expressed disappointment with the most recent 
rating by Transparency International but said the President is 
ready to meet with the organization to discuss it. 
 
Notable Convictions in Uzbekistan 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶9. (U) There have been encouraging indications in the 
state-controlled press that Uzbekistan is taking its international 
anti-corruption obligations seriously and not tolerating official 
corruption.  We recently reported that the Governor of Samarkand 
 
TASHKENT 00000511  003 OF 003 
 
 
Province was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for corruption 
(reftel).  In addition, on March 23 a story was published by 
Interfax News Agency reporting that a corrupt group of policemen 
which extorted money from citizens through fabricated cases was 
brought to justice.  One accomplice had been sentenced to more than 
10 years in prison in 2007, according to the article, and 
authorities just arrested Abdurauf Boynazarov, a former police 
investigator in Tashkent Province, who had been in hiding for 
several years.  On April 13 there was article from the reputable 
website newsuz reporting that a former prosecutor, Fakhriddin 
Nuriddinov, who led a criminal group that took USD 1,000,000 from 
52 victims in Khorezm and Karakalpakstan Provinces, was convicted 
and sentenced to 15 years in prison.  Three accomplices received 11 
year sentences and a fourth will be punished with seven years in 
prison. 
 
Comment: 
--------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) We are optimistic that this new INL-supported UNODC 
anti-corruption initiative will help flesh out the anti-corruption 
framework and ultimately lead into greater awareness of the problem 
and concrete measures to combat it.  As Sharafutdinov summarized, 
Uzbekistan "is no longer dancing in just one spot, but it is just 
at the beginning of a long road."  Corruption will not disappear 
overnight, but a serious effort to implement the U.N. Convention 
Against Corruption is a step in the right direction.  The U.S. 
financial support for the project also provides us with another 
avenue for engagement on rule of law issues. 
BUTCHER