FORMER AGRICULTURE MINISTER MEREDOV DISMISSAL

UNCLAS ASHGABAT 000841

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAGR KCRM PGOV TX
SUBJECT: FORMER AGRICULTURE MINISTER MEREDOV DISMISSAL
BASED ON ALLEGED CORRUPTION



1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet.


2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Opposition Turkmenistani news website
Gundogar reported August 8 that police arrested former
Minister of Agriculture Paizugeldy Meredov for embezzlement
and corruption. Well-known for his close personal
relationship to former president Saparmurat Niyazov and his
great personal wealth, suspicions of corruption followed
Meredov throughout his career. This alleged arrest follows
the alleged 20-year sentence of another close Niyazov ally,
Akmurat Rejepov, Niyazov's former Chief of the Presidential
Security Service and the long-rumored "grey cardinal." In
announcing at the Cabinet of Ministers meeting on August 9
that the Supreme Auditing Commission would take on increased
responsibilities aimed at stronger control of expenditures of
hard currency returns from deals with foreign companies,
President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov appears poised to root
out the source of corruption and deviation of government
funds. END SUMMARY.

WHEN NIYAZOV IS YOUR PROTECTOR, EMPLOYMENT IS GUARANTEED


3. (U) Meredov left the position of Minister of Agriculture
in 1994, but subsequently filled other government posts,
including hakim of the Gyaurski etrap (1994-97) and hakim of
the Chandybil etrap of Ashgabat (2003-06). Most recently he
served as Chairman of the Gok Gushak (Green Belt)
Association, a state joint-stock company responsible for
supplying trees used in landscaping of government
construction projects.


4. (U) Throughout his tenure as president, Niyazov protected
Meredov, his friend and close ally commonly known as the
"king of cotton." Typically, Niyazov would lightly criticize
Meredov during his trademark public scolding sessions.
Niyazov would then move Meredov to a different position in
lieu of firing him. Local EMBASSY staff state that Meredov,
while notorious for his high level of corruption and wealth,
kept a low public profile. At the Ministry of Agriculture,
rumors abounded that cotton was exported for his personal
profit.


5. (SBU) Avdy Kuliyev, a former leader of the Turkmen
opposition who died in exile in 2007, suggested that Meredov
assisted Niyazov in opening private bank accounts in 1991
during an official visit to Rome at the invitation of a
private company. A $35 million pre-payment for the
construction of a textile and gas processing plant that was
never started was allegedly transferred into a private
account. Kuliyev also alleged that Meredov made arrangements
for his sons to sell Turkmenistan cotton in London and Bremen.

ARREST: WHY NOW?


6. (SBU) Like Rejepov, long speculated to be one of
Niyazov's closest advisors, Meredov was also most likely an
integral part of the apparatus involved in opening foreign
bank accounts on Niyazov's behalf. Meredov is the merely the
most recent person linked to corruption in the ongoing
investigation of Niyazov's personal accounts.


7. (SBU) COMMENT: Although some opposition websites have
depicted Meredov's arrest as a Niyazov-like move designed to
strengthen Berdimuhamedov's control of his government, few
here would argue that Meredov is a blameless victim. When
combined with the recent establishment of the Supreme
Auditing Commission and Berdimuhamedov's August 9 call for
more clarity of ministerial funds, the arrest seems to point
toward a concerted effort to crack down on at least the most
extreme forms of graft and corruption. END COMMENT.
HOAGLAND