In Uzbekistan, $3.1 million was stolen from public education budget
During inspections by the Prosecutor’s office in the Pedagogical Institute of Navoi, a shortage of 1.7 billion sums ($180 000) was discovered. This amount was the difference between the real value of the equipment and the money spent on its purchase.
According to the Department of public relations and legal information under the Prosecutor’s office, the equipment cost a total of 556.1 million sums ($60 000). In the documents, there was a figure of 2.3 billion sums ($2 400 000).
Two companies were exposed in the crime – “Single Customer Service” and “K.O.” LLC. Their employees made fake accounting documents, four times inflating the cost of furniture purchased for the Pedagogical Institute of Navoi.
Now throughout the Republic, the authorities check budget funds spending. Disclosure of corruption deal in Navoi is an episode of the fight against theft in the educational field, which has become widespread.
Earlier, the Ministry of Finance published information on the results of the control measures carried out by the Department of State Financial Control for 2019. It turned out that financial irregularities in the structures of the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education amounted to 16.7 billion sums ($1.7 million), which is 2.5 times more compared to 2018.
The largest number of cases of budgetary discipline’s violation in 2019 was revealed in the system of the Ministry of Education. The amount of embezzlement was 2.7 times higher than in 2018 and amounted to $3.1 million. Theft from the budget of kindergartens in the system of the Ministry of Preschool Education amounted to about $1 million, which is 1.5 times more than the amount of embezzlement in 2018.
For obvious reasons, the calculations of the Ministry of Finance do not indicate the amount of bribes that contractors for large orders give to representatives of government agencies. A review of the Uzbek media shows that the largest number of criminal cases related to corruption and fraud are initiated in the field of education.
