Trial Begins for Former Namangan Governor

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — A district criminal court in the Uzbekistan district of the Ferghana region began open hearings on 24 April 2026, in a criminal case involving the former governor of Namangan, 54-year-old Anvarjon Otakhodjaev, along with five other defendants, according to a statement published on the regional courts’ Telegram channel.

A total of six individuals are being prosecuted in the case. Three of the accused have been placed in pre-trial detention, while the remaining defendants are under a travel restriction requiring them to comply with conditions of proper conduct.

The defendants face multiple charges under the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan, including embezzlement through misappropriation or misuse of funds, fraud, abuse and excess of official authority, official forgery, as well as bribery, including both receiving and giving bribes in complicity.

The investigation into the former governor of Namangan was initiated in September 2025. According to the State Security Service, he is suspected of receiving a large bribe of 60,000 US dollars in exchange for facilitating the allocation of a 35-sotix land plot for the construction of a multi-apartment building in the city. The case also involves the head of the governor’s office administration.

Court proceedings are continuing in an open session.