Uzbekistan: 9 people arrested due to dam break

Nine persons are accused of partial destruction of the dam of the Sardob reservoir on May 1. The Prosecutor General’s Office calls them “officials of the organizations” without specifying the place of work of each of the detainees.

According to the results of the pre-investigation check, the main version of the tragedy is errors in the design documentation, during construction and operation. As a result of a dam break 90 thousand residents of the country and 30 thousand citizens were evacuated, six people died. The reservoir was considered secret, there is no information about it in the open database. Contrary to international law, the construction of a reservoir in the border zone was not even coordinated with the Kazakh side.

At a video conference on May 5, President Mirziyoyev said that, on his behalf, law enforcement agencies had begun an objective, impartial and comprehensive investigation into the flood incident. “I assure you that all the guilty, regardless of who they are and what position they hold, will be held accountable before the law,” the president promised.

The subordinates perceived the conviction in a peculiar way of the country’s leader in an effective search for truth. At first, the authorities linked the collapse of the embankment to a natural disaster in the form of a strong wind with precipitation. After the president’s speech, in the attempts of investigators, an element of exoticism suddenly appeared – the destruction of the dam base caused by fish, in particular catfish. Then, at the request of the State Security Service, specialists from the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences studied the presence of biodeterioration at the dam of the Sardobin reservoir. Scientists have discovered the burrows of two small rodents and a fox’s hideout.

Such a series of fibs was immediately ostracized by the citizens. On social networks, users initially discussed who and how much had stolen during the construction of a hydraulic facility worth over $ 404 million at the official rate of 2017 ($ 200 million at the black market rate) when it was commissioned.

On May 23, the Uzbek media reported on the involvement of two individuals as suspects. One of them is the head of the directorate for the development and operation of the reservoir, a 33-year-old specialist who took office in 2018.

In the current report of the press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office, it is noted that “at present, nine persons are involved in the above-mentioned violations in the criminal case as accused. These are officials of the customer – the state unitary enterprise Sirdaryo Suv Qurilish Invest, the designer – the UzGip company, the general contractor – the Uztemiryulkurilishmontazh enterprise, the contractor – the Rezaksoy Suv Qurilish enterprise, as well as the Tupalang Sherobod, the Ministry of Water Resources and the Operations Directorate. Criminal cases have been instituted against them under Articles 167 (Embezzlement and misappropriation), 205 (abuse of power or official powers), 207 (official negligence), 209 (official forgery), 258 (violation of safety rules for mining, construction or explosive works) Of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan. They are in custody now. ”

Tupalang Sherobod is part of To’palang HPD Holding, a subcontractor for the Sardoba construction. From the information of the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organizations, it followed that 61.7% of the share in this holding belonged to the director Islam Abdurakhmanov, son of the senator and chairman of the board of Uzbekhydroenergo JSC Abdugani Sanginov (according to the source of the independent website Asiaterra, the latter is Mirziyoyev’s university mate).

Earlier, Abdugani Sanginov headed the Uzsuvenergo association of the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources of Uzbekistan, which was the customer for the construction of the Sardob reservoir. After the liquidation of the ministry, the general contractor for the construction of the Sardobin reservoir was the Uztemiryulkurilishmontazh enterprise under the Uzbekiston Temir Yullari JSC.

Thus, the Sanginov’s clan ordered the work itself, and actually accepted the work. Ideal conditions for cutting budget millions of dollars in the absence of tenders. Hundreds of tons of building materials and cement sold to outside parties, meager salaries for unskilled personnel also allowed saving the construction budget. If you pay kickbacks, then only to the very top. It is extremely profitable to be a shareholder of the holding, taking into account the contracts for six hydro projects, which is over $ 1.1 billion.

According to journalists from the Uzbek service of Radio Liberty, Senator Abdugani Sanginov has four adult sons: the elder manages customs, the other manages the investment department of the Ministry of Finance, the third one is the head of the department in the Prosecutor General’s Office, and the recent student Islam is the formal owner of his father’s holding. The senator has four brothers. The names of the firms under their control often include the word “tupalang”, which means commotion or riot.

Another conclusion about the causes of the man-made disaster in the message of the prosecutor’s office is alarming. The competency assessment revealed that 56% of employees do not have the necessary knowledge, and 82% of them do not have qualifications and experience. This led to the fact that during the maintenance of the dam the possible factors of dam break were not taken into account.

With such a personnel policy of the holding, tacitly controlled by the senator, the risks of new emergencies are very high. This fact did not embarrass President Mirziyoyev at all when he included Abdugani Sanginov in the government commission to study the causes of the incident.

The third well-known personality on the topic of Sardoba is Achilbay Ramatov, First Deputy Prime Minister, who headed Uzbekiston Temir Yullari from 2002 to 2019. The railway department was part of the contractors for the construction of the Sardobin reservoir, which began in 2010, and then started to use it. The official knew exactly all aspects of both the construction and the condition of the dam.

Railway workers in Uzbekistan are engaged in coal mining, building a terminal at the Tashkent airport, and are now responsible for large hydro projects. At the same time, the department cannot prevent snow landslides on the Kamchik pass. On the Tashguzar – Baysun – Kumkurgan railway, landslides and mudflows occur annually, during the construction of the Yunusabad metro line, six workers were covered with soil after rain.

“Ramatov and Sanginov are one of Mirziyoyev’s most loyal associates. As soon as by some miracle their guilt in the Sardoba tragedy is proved, and they leave their posts, this may lead to a “star shower” of other high-ranking officials. But so far the president has repeatedly proved that he’s not a sell-out of his people, ”the ACCA expert is sure.

Investigators, having suspects, are investigating new circumstances of the criminal case. It is no coincidence that “given the complexity and volume of the criminal case, the Prosecutor General’s Office extended the period of the preliminary investigation by five months.” In the meantime, the spread of COVID-19 in the country has shifted public attention from the May disaster to the problem of survival.