DAS FEIGENBAUM VISITS NEW ANTI-CORRUPTION AGENCY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DUSHANBE 000590 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM TI SUBJECT: DAS FEIGENBAUM VISITS NEW ANTI-CORRUPTION AGENCY DUSHANBE 00000590 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: At the top of the agenda for many Tajik officials is attracting private business to Tajikistan. However, Tajikistan's current legal and regulatory environment, infested with corruption, deters American businesses. In a meeting with Sherkhon Salimov, Director of the new State Agency on Anti-Corruption and Financial Control April 13, SCA Deputy Assistant Secretary Evan Feigenbaum explained that an anti-corruption agency in Tajikistan can only help to attract American businesses, if it can weed out corruption in an effective, transparent and public manner, and at every level. END SUMMARY. WHAT DOES THE ANTI-CORRUPTION AGENCY DO? ¶2. (SBU) Salimov openly admitted that corruption is so endemic in Tajik society that even President Rahmon has acknowledged it is a problem and the people have demanded the government address it. However, Salimov also confessed that the problem is daunting and the new agency cannot possibly cut out all corruption in society. The government is in the process of drafting legislation that defines the anti-corruption agency's mandate. The agency has two primary priorities: the first is to examine expenditures of state finances and resources, the state budget and its credits and loans. The second is to wage an anti-corruption campaign. ¶3. (U) The agency is tasked with preventing corruption, investigating corruption cases and processing the cases through the judicial system if applicable. Its scope will affect all fields of life from businesses to public associations, state agencies and individuals. It aims to expose obstacles created by government agencies and will investigate what causes and leads to corruption. To prevent corruption within the anti-corruption agency itself, the general prosecutor's office will have some oversight. The agency will report to the president's office. ¶4. (U) Salimov emphasized that the anti-corruption agency is responsible to the people. The agency plans to educate the people on their rights and will set up a division to help individuals take their cases to the courts. By educating and empowering the people, Salimov says, they will begin to demand and exercise their rights and freedoms. WHY BUSINESSES DON'T COME TO TAJIKISTAN ¶5. (U) Deputy Assistant Secretary Feigenbaum encouraged Salimov and the anti-corruption agency to investigate corruption on every level including among high level government officials. In order to develop a robust relationship between Tajikistan and private American businesses, inspections, bribes, and overregulation are the types of obstacles the Tajik government needs to tackle. He explained that the perception among American businesses is that in Tajikistan there is a range of corruption starting from the militia on the street who pull motorists over for bribes to local people who want to start a business but are obstructed by inspection after inspection. International businesses are primarily concerned with individuals or government agencies who want a piece of their contract and large-scale organized corruption. ¶6. (U) Feigenbaum also noted over-regulation as an impediment to investment, citing a World Bank report on "Doing Business" indicating it takes over 60 days to open a business in Tajikistan. The hardest challenge for the government is to find the right balance between loosening constraints to encourage growth and removing obstacles that prohibit productivity. Feigenbaum recommended to Salimov that prosecuting corrupt individuals or organizations from the senior levels in a transparent, open and public way would teach others a lesson and send a strong message to the people that the government would not tolerate corruption. ¶7. (U) Salimov generally agreed with Feigenbaum's comments and stated the agency will go after all individuals guilty of corruption regardless of rank or government branch. ¶8. (SBU) COMMENT: It is still too early to tell whether Salimov (himself rumored to be corrupt during his days as a Dushanbe prosecutor) and the new agency will have any positive impact. Salimov and the Tajik government know well that international governments, donor agencies and businesses want DUSHANBE 00000590 002.2 OF 003 them to actively fight corruption, but until the agency institutes real legislative and regulatory changes and goes after high-level government officials, corruption will remain an obstacle to economic development and democratic progress. END COMMENT. SUBJECT: DAS FEIGENBAUM MEETS WITH NEW ANTI-CORRUPTION AGENCY ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: At the top of the agenda for many Tajik officials is attracting private business to Tajikistan. However, Tajikistan's current legal and regulatory environment, infested with corruption, deters American businesses. In a meeting with Sherkhon Salimov, Director of the new State Agency on Anti-Corruption and Financial Control April 13, Deputy Assistant Secretary Evan Feigenbaum explained that an anti-corruption agency in Tajikistan can only help to attract American businesses, if it can weed out corruption in an effective, transparent and public manner, and at every level. END SUMMARY. WHAT DOES THE ANTI-CORRUPTION AGENCY DO? ¶2. (SBU) Salimov openly admitted that corruption is so endemic in Tajik society that even President Rahmon has acknowledged it is a problem and the people have demanded the government address it. However, Salimov also confessed that the problem is daunting and the new agency cannot possibly cut out all corruption in society. The government is in the process of drafting legislation that defines the anti-corruption agency's mandate. The agency has two primary priorities: the first is to examine expenditures of state finances and resources, the state budget and its credits and loans. The second is to wage an anti-corruption campaign. ¶3. (U) The agency is tasked with preventing corruption, investigating corruption cases and processing the cases through the judicial system if applicable. Its scope will affect all fields of life from businesses to public associations, state agencies and individuals. It aims to expose obstacles created by government agencies and will investigate what causes and leads to corruption. To prevent corruption within the anti-corruption agency itself, the general prosecutor's office will have some oversight. The agency will report to the president's office. ¶4. (U) Salimov emphasized that the anti-corruption agency is responsible to the people. The agency plans to educate the people on their rights and will set up a division to help individuals take their cases to the courts. By educating and empowering the people, Salimov says, they will begin to demand and exercise their rights and freedoms. WHY BUSINESSES DON'T COME TO TAJIKISTAN ¶5. (U) Deputy Assistant Secretary Feigenbaum encouraged Salimov and the anti-corruption agency to investigate corruption on every level including among high level government officials. In order to develop a robust relationship between Tajikistan and private American businesses, inspections, bribes, and overregulation are the types of obstacles the Tajik government needs to tackle. He explained that the perception among American businesses is that in Tajikistan there is a range of corruption starting from the militia on the street who pull motorists over for bribes to local people who want to start a business but are obstructed by inspection after inspection. International businesses are primarily concerned with individuals or government agencies who want a piece of their contract and large-scale organized corruption. ¶6. (U) Feigenbaum also noted over-regulation as an impediment to investment, citing a World Bank report on "Doing Business" indicating it takes over 60 days to open a business in Tajikistan. The hardest challenge for the government is to find the right balance between loosening constraints to encourage growth and removing obstacles that prohibit productivity. Feigenbaum recommended to Salimov that prosecuting corrupt individuals or organizations from the senior levels in a transparent, open and public way would teach others a lesson and send a strong message to the people that the government would not tolerate corruption. ¶7. (U) Salimov generally agreed with Feigenbaum's comments and stated the agency will go after all individuals guilty of DUSHANBE 00000590 003.2 OF 003 corruption regardless of rank or government branch. ¶8. (SBU) COMMENT: It is still too early to tell whether Salimov (himself rumored to be corrupt during his days as a Dushanbe prosecutor) and the new agency will have any positive impact. Salimov and the Tajik government know well that international governments, donor agencies and businesses want them to actively fight corruption, but until the agency institutes real legislative and regulatory changes and goes after high-level government officials, corruption will remain an obstacle to economic development and democratic progress. END COMMENT. JACOBSON