By Aigerim Turgunbaeva
BISHKEK, March 16 (Reuters) – Kyrgyzstan’s tax authority on Monday published a video accusing ex-security chief Kamchybek Tashiev of corruption, amid a widening purge of his allies.
Tashiev, previously head of the GKNB internal security service, was seen as the country’s second most powerful figure until his abrupt sacking in February. He and President Sadyr Japarov had ruled the mountainous Central Asian country of 7 million in a de facto tandem since they took power in 2020.
The tax service said Tashiev and his relatives had defrauded the state oil and gas company of around 4 billion Kyrgyz som ($45 million). Tashiev has not been formally charged, and has made no public comment on the allegations.
After taking power amid a wave of protests in 2020, Tashiev and Japarov clamped down on opposition and free media in what had traditionally been Central Asia’s most democratic country.
The two men bridged the gap between the north and south in fractious, clan-riven Kyrgyzstan, which has seen three presidents ousted by protests since 2005. Tashiev, a southerner, was influential in the volatile southern provinces.
The accusations against Tashiev come as dozens of officials seen as allies of the ex-security boss, including ministers, mayors and lawmakers, have been sacked or resigned from office since his ouster.
Those leaving office include Tashiev’s brother, a former deputy in parliament, and the mayor of Osh, Kyrgyzstan’s second city.
Japarov’s administration had described the sacking of Tashiev and his allies as necessary to maintain stability and unity in the country.
A close ally of Russia, Kyrgyzstan has in recent months attracted scrutiny from Western countries that accuse it of facilitating sanctions evasion by Moscow.
(Reporting by Aigerim Turgunbaeva, Writing by Felix Light; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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