Watchdog

BISHKEK – Kyrgyz lawmakers have approved the findings of a parliamentary commission that concluded Kyrgyzstan was not involved in hundreds of millions of dollars of alleged money laundering uncovered in a bombshell joint journalistic investigation.

Seventy-two lawmakers on June 18 approved the conclusion of the commission probing the murder of a businessman and widespread corruption allegations that have triggered protests in the Central Asian nation.

The commission concluded that "the $932 million withdrawn from the country is not related to Kyrgyzstan, since it was the funds of Kyrgyz and foreign private entrepreneurs” working in Uzbekistan, according to its chairman, lawmaker Talantbek Mamytov.

The vote relates to an award-winning joint journalistic investigation by RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, and the Kyrgyz news site Kloop, titled Plunder And Patronage In The Heart Of Central Asia.

The investigation implicated former Kyrgyz State Customs Agency Deputy Chairman Raimbek Matraimov in a corruption scheme involving money transferred out of the country by Chinese-born Uyghur businessman Aierken Saimaiti, who was assassinated in Istanbul in November.

Prior to his killing, he provided a trove of financial records to reporters showing how he moved money out of Kyrgyzstan via murky wire transfers and cash couriers over the course of several years.

Earlier in June, Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security (UKMK) claimed reporters with RFE/RL had received money from Saimaiti, who served as the journalists' source in the joint investigation.

RFE/RL strongly rejected the allegation.

Former RFE/RL President Jamie Fly said at the time that the allegations "appear to be the latest attempt in a long-standing campaign of retaliation against journalists by corrupt individuals seeking to protect their wealth and power."

Matraimov and his family have denied any links to Saimaiti or corruption in the Kyrgyz customs service, and filed a libel suit over the investigation.

The lead reporter in the investigation, Ali Toktakunov of RFE/RL’s Radio Azattyk, has received death threats in connection with the publication, which has triggered street protests in Kyrgyzstan following its publication in November.

North Macedonia's former special prosecutor in charge of investigating organized crime and corruption has been sentenced to seven years in prison for abuse of office.

A Skopje court on June 18 found Katica Janeva guilty of working with an intermediary friend who took 1.5 million euros ($1.7 million) from one of the Balkan country’s wealthiest businessmen, Orce Kamcev, who is under investigation in a separate case.

The middleman -- high-profile entertainer and television owner Bojan Jovanovski -- was sentenced to nine years in prison for bribery and money laundering.

Skopje's criminal court found that Janeva had agreed to "softer measures" during the inquiry into Kamcev, including allowing the suspect to be held in house detention and developing a plan to only fine him, according to the verdict.

Janeva "has destroyed the trust of the public in the justice system," the court said.

Both Janeva and Jovanovski claim innocence and can appeal the verdict.

The whereabouts of the 1.5 million euros in extortion money is unknown, RFE/RL’s Balkan Service reported.

The so-called “Extortion” case mired former Prime Minister Zoran Zaev in controversy, since Jovanovski boasted of his connections with senior officials in the Social Democratic government.

Janeva was arrested in August 2019 after the Italian newspaper La Verita published audio and video recordings alleging she was involved in the bribery scheme.

The graft inquiry into Kamcev, known as the "Empire" investigation, has been completed, but prosecutors have not yet decided to file charges.

The special prosecutor's office was established in 2015 to investigate high-profile crime as part of a deal brokered by the European Union to end a political crisis and restore faith in the judiciary.

North Macedonia seeks EU membership and a condition for joining the club is fighting corruption and organized crime.

With reporting by AFP, dpa, Reuters, and RFE/RL's Balkan Service