President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov spoke of large-scale embezzlement of public funds previously allocated for the development of the cities of Tokmok and Kara-Balta. The head of state made the remarks during a meeting with residents of Talas region.

The issue was raised by a local woman who asked the president to review the criminal case against her husband, a former head of an aiyl okmotu (rural administration). She said he had been unfairly convicted and ordered to reimburse the state 3.7 million soms in damages.

Government officials explained to the president that the case concerned the repair of a 3.5-kilometer local road in Chon-Tokoy village, Talas district.

Commenting on the matter, Sadyr Japarov recalled cases of embezzlement of public funds that had previously been uncovered in other cities.

«Such cases occurred in Tokmok and Kara-Balta as well. We allocated one billion soms to each city and told them to develop their cities. But they pocketed 200–300 million soms.

Sadyr Japarov

The president warned local government officials that they would be held personally accountable for how public funds are spent.

He said officials must abandon the practice of reporting completed projects when the work has not actually been finished and the allocated funds have been misappropriated.

Japarov stressed that budget funds must be spent strictly for their intended purposes, while any savings made during project implementation must be returned to the state rather than kept by officials.

Addressing district heads, mayors and heads of local administrations, the president urged them to prevent such violations.

Regarding the case involving the former head of the aiyl okmotu, Japarov suggested that the woman submit a written appeal so that the circumstances could be examined further.