Central Asia's week that was #41
Uzbek assassination plotters sentenced, Kazakh VAT backtrack, new China-Afghan rail route. Also, more Karimova plunder returned, Kyrgyz anthem contest, and Turkmen football travel ban.
So this happened…
A military court in Uzbekistan sentenced 10 people to prison terms of up to 23 years for their roles in the attempted assassination of Komil Allamjonov, a former high-ranking presidential administration official. Among those convicted is Shukhrat Rasulov, who previously headed the internal security division of the Presidential Security Service. Not all defendants have been identified, but those who have include Doniyor Tashkhodjayev, a former senior police official. The attack on Allamjonov took place in October, on the eve of parliamentary elections, and was widely seen as evidence of a power struggle among the country’s elite. Independent reports have linked key suspects in the case to Otabek Umarov, a son-in-law of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Following the ruling, Allamjonov posted a gnomic message on social media: “The truth can be twisted or hidden, but it will always find its way to the surface. It is destined to be revealed.”
Kazakhstan’s government is now proposing to raise value-added tax to 16 percent, retreating from a previously floated 20 percent figure. A revised plan, presented after a backlash from the business community and public misgivings expressed by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, envisions differentiated rates. Farmers will be exempt, some industries will pay 10 percent, while the general VAT rate will rise from 14 percent. The government first proposed a VAT increase in 2023 but backtracked after Tokayev warned it could drive up inflation and push more activity into the shadow economy. Officials revived the proposal in late January, floating a 20 percent rate, which now appears to have been a trial balloon. Authorities argue the reform is needed to boost tax revenues and reduce reliance on volatile oil income. Critics warn it will slow consumption and push more businesses into the informal economy.
A law has come into effect in Kyrgyzstan empowering authorities to fine internet users 20,000 soms (around $230) for online insults or defamation. Legal entities falling foul of the same law face fines of up to 65,000 soms. The responsibility for determining what constitutes insulting language will fall to law enforcement agencies, not the Culture Ministry, as was considered under an earlier draft of this newly adopted legislation. Proponents of the law cast it as a response to a rise in online abuse. Critics are concerned, however, that this will be used as another cudgel by the authorities with which to suppress dissent and curb free speech.
Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov has overseen a quashing of media freedoms since coming to power in 2020. Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov backed calls by Elon Musk, the head of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to shut down Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which operates in Kyrgyzstan under the name Radio Azattyk. Musk, who has been tasked by President Donald Trump with slashing government spending, criticised the U.S.-funded broadcaster as a waste of taxpayer money. Japarov echoed this sentiment, stating that Kyrgyz citizens no longer need RFE/RL’s reporting. His remarks come amid a mounting crackdown on independent media in Kyrgyzstan, where authorities have harassed investigative outlets, passed restrictive laws, and jailed journalists. In 2023, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz service was briefly banned, while outlets such as Kloop and Temirov Live have faced sustained legal pressure. Press freedom groups warn that the government is using disinformation claims as a pretext to dismantle independent journalism.
Uzbekistan appointed Franklin Templeton, a U.S.-based global investment firm, to manage state assets worth $1.5 billion. The National Investment Fund of Uzbekistan, created late last year, will transfer shares in 18 state-owned enterprises and banks, including Uzbekistan Airways, Uzbekistan Airports, Uztelecom, and several financial institutions, to the company’s oversight. Franklin Templeton’s mandate is to improve corporate governance, financial performance, and investment appeal as a precursor to listing these assets on local and international stock markets. The firm has signalled interest in establishing a footprint elsewhere in the region too. In April, a Franklin Templeton delegation travelled to Kyrgyzstan to meet President Sadyr Japarov. Discussions included proposals for establishing a National Welfare Fund.
China has launched a new direct rail freight route to Afghanistan, with trains departing from Chongqing, a city of more than 20 million people in central China, passing through Kazakhstan, and arriving at a station on Uzbekistan’s southern border. An inaugural shipment this week consisted of 55 containers carrying telecommunications equipment produced by state-owned company ZTE. The new route, which crosses the Khorgos border post in Xinjiang, is expected to shorten transit times by three to five days compared to road transport. It will also reduce logistics costs by up to 20 percent, ZTE told Xinhua news agency. The journey takes around two weeks in total. More than 18,000 freight trains have already been dispatched from Chongqing along China-Europe and China-Central Asia routes. This fits into a broader trend. In November, a similar-sized train took 22 days to travel from the Chinese city of Nantong to the Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif.
And there’s this too…
Uzbekistan and Switzerland signed an agreement to return $182 million in confiscated assets tied to Gulnara Karimova, the imprisoned daughter of the late President Islam Karimov. The funds, seized by Swiss authorities in a corruption case dating back to 2012, will be repatriated under UN oversight and allocated to public welfare projects. This latest transfer brings the total amount of laundered Uzbek assets returned from Switzerland to $313 million. Karimova, once seen as a potential heir to her father, amassed immense wealth through bribery and extortion before her downfall. She has for years been held in a high-security women’s prison but was reportedly transferred recently to a lower-security penal settlement. Some Uzbek media have speculated that this could be a step toward her early release. Meanwhile, international investigations into her financial network continue. Swiss prosecutors late last year charged private bank Lombard Odier with money laundering for allegedly helping Karimova conceal illicit funds.
Kyrgyzstan’s security services detained a former head of the financial services regulator on suspicion of involvement in creating a pyramid scheme linked to the bogus MCN Coin cryptocurrency. The scheme is understood to have operated despite regulators repeatedly refusing to grant it registration. A project founder, Isradin Subankbekov, admitted after being detained earlier this month that the cryptocurrency had no underlying blockchain and was being used to dupe investors. He stated that his gang had earned around $2.5 million from the scheme but that they had no means to return funds to their victims. Yuruslan Toichubekov, the one-time financial services tsar who allegedly provided guidance to the MCN Coin team, was implicated in earlier corruption cases, including a 2015 scandal involving illegal lottery licensing.
Uzbekistan’s nuclear power projects are to be developed by international consortiums incorporating technology from China and Europe, the head of the state atomic energy agency Uzatom said. Speaking to the media, Azim Akhmedkhadzhayev confirmed that while Russia’s Rosatom remains a key partner, a small modular nuclear power plant, or SMR, poised for construction in the Jizzakh region will also integrate non-nuclear hardware and software from other countries. This appears to contrast with earlier messaging that suggested Uzbekistan’s civilian nuclear program might be developed exclusively with Russia. Rosatom’s engineering subsidiary had already signed a protocol in September finalizing regulatory and financial terms for the project, which will comprise six 55 megawatt RITM-200N reactors. Officials say modular construction should accelerate completion, with the first reactor expected to be operational in five years, followed by additional units every six months.
Kyrgyz officials apparently struggle to remember the words to the national anthem. Kyrgyzstan has launched a nationwide competition to create a new national anthem and replace one that some officials argue is too difficult to sing. Parliament speaker Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu, who initially called for the change, claimed even high-ranking officials struggle to perform the current anthem properly. Adopted in 1992, the anthem is seen by some as retaining remnants of Soviet-style composition and wording. The government aims to approve the new anthem by April. The composer of the winning entry, which will be selected by an expert panel and confirmed through a public consultation exercise, will be awarded 1.5 million soms ($17,000).
A lawmaker in Kazakhstan proposed introducing a so-called foreign agents law to regulate organisations receiving funding from abroad. Irina Smirnova, a member of parliament, argued that Kazakhstan should follow the example of countries such as Russia in requiring foreign-funded entities – particularly media outlets and nongovernmental organizations – to disclose their sources of financing. Smirnova claimed that around 200 NGOs in Kazakhstan receive foreign grants, with 70 percent of funding coming from the United States. She warned that such organisations may promote foreign political agendas under the guise of media support and human rights advocacy. Critics, however, pointed out that Smirnova herself previously cooperated with foreign foundations based in Kazakhstan, including the Soros Foundation, leading some to accuse her of hypocrisy.
Turkmenistan has banned football clubs from travelling abroad for training camps, forcing teams to cancel pre-arranged friendly matches, news outlet Fergana has reported. According to a representative of a club that had been due to face a Turkmen side during overseas training, teams were informed in mid-January that authorities had blocked all clubs from attending international camps. The restriction has led to the cancellation of matches scheduled in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Turkmen teams have long struggled to secure travel permission for training abroad, with authorities frequently preventing even the national team from attending friendlies. This policy is at odds with Turkmenistan’s ambition to improve its standing on the international football scene, especially as national champions Arkadag prepare to debut in the AFC Challenge League play-offs in March.
