Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — A trial is set to begin in Tashkent involving former Minister of Agriculture Aziz Voitov.

On 15 August, the Mirabad District Criminal Court of Tashkent will start hearing the criminal case against Aziz Voitov and two businessmen.

Aziz Voitov is accused of embezzlement or misappropriation of funds on a particularly large scale, carried out by an organized group or in its interests.

Additionally, he faces charges of abuse of official position, which caused particularly significant damage, and official forgery.

The other defendants in the case include entrepreneurs Orzubek Razjabov and Alisher Urunbaev.

Orzubek Razjabov, the founder of the Tashkent-based construction company Beltepa Master Stroy, is charged with embezzlement or misappropriation of funds on a particularly large scale, violation of trade or service provision rules on a large scale, official forgery, bribery, document forgery and trafficking, as well as the use of knowingly forged documents.

Alisher Urunbaev, former founder of the companies Lanell Group (raw material supplies for the textile industry) and Rainbow-Teks (cotton fiber preparation and spinning) in Tashkent, is also accused of embezzlement or misappropriation of funds on a particularly large scale.

Aziz Voitov was arrested in December 2023. He had been removed from his post in October of the same year following an audit by the Accounts Chamber in the Ministry of Agriculture.

Aziz Voitov served as Minister of Agriculture from August 2022 to October 2023. Prior to that, from March 2020, he was the First Deputy Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade.