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Pharmaceutical Business

Uzbek Agency Finds Systemic Failures in Dok-1 Max Case

Uzbekistan’s Anti-Corruption Agency has identified serious systemic shortcomings in the pharmaceutical sector following an analysis of court materials related to the Dok-1 Max case, according to a report reviewed by Gazeta.uz. The agency’s findings point to weaknesses in the processes for registering, certifying, and licensing medicines, where insufficient transparency and limited digitalization allowed a high degree of human discretion. This, in turn, created conditions for corruption risks to emerge. The case has already led to criminal convictions. On February 26, 2024, a Tashkent court sentenced several individuals to prison terms ranging from three to 20 years. Court documents indicate that during the registration of Dok-1 Max, a number of procedural violations occurred, including decisions that failed to meet established requirements. According to the agency, one of the key institutional problems lies in the structure and operation of the expert council under the Center for the Safety of Pharmaceutical Products, which operates within the Ministry of Health. The procedure for selecting council members and forming its composition was not defined in any legal document. Although the council consists of 17 members with independent voting rights, some simultaneously held senior positions within the same institution, creating a conflict of interest. The report cites the example of a department head who participated in the registration process for Dok-1 Max while also voting as a council member. Such overlap, the agency noted, undermined the independence of decision-making. Transparency issues were also highlighted. The council did not publish quarterly or annual reports, lists of members, or the outcomes of drug registration decisions on its official website. In addition, procedures for conducting inspections of pharmaceutical enterprises and disclosing their results were not clearly regulated, further contributing to corruption risks. The agency also found that inspection mechanisms were not aligned with international standards. A 2021 government resolution designated a single state enterprise as the sole body responsible for inspections, a structure the agency said contradicts recommendations by the World Health Organization and European regulatory bodies. Under international practice, such oversight is generally carried out directly by the Ministry of Health. In response to these findings, authorities have taken steps to reform the system. All processes related to the registration, certification, and licensing of pharmaceutical products have now been fully digitalized. In addition, registration certificates for at least 92 types of medicines have been revoked, and their production, import, and sale have been banned following re-evaluation. The agency recommended further measures, including transitioning all drug registration procedures to a fully online system, ensuring open access to information, increasing transparency in the expert council’s activities, and aligning inspection practices with international standards. The Dok-1 Max case has drawn international attention since late 2022, when reports emerged that children in Uzbekistan had died after consuming the cough syrup produced by India-based Marion Biotech. Initial reports cited 18 deaths in December 2022, followed by dozens more cases revealed in 2023. During the trial, prosecutors alleged that officials had accepted a $33,000 bribe to bypass proper testing procedures. The fallout has extended...

Industrial Accident

Two Killed in Explosion at Industrial Plant in Eastern Kazakhstan

Two people were killed and nine injured in an explosion at a facility operated by Kazzinc in Ust-Kamenogorsk, local authorities and emergency services said. The incident occurred at around 8 a.m. on May 5. According to preliminary information, a dust-collection unit malfunctioned in one of the workshops, followed by a fire and the partial collapse of building structures. Emergency crews from the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan were quickly dispatched to the scene, deploying 10 fire units. “Rescuers are clearing debris and extinguishing remaining fire sources until the situation is fully contained. Search operations for victims are ongoing. According to preliminary information, four people are being transported to medical facilities,” the ministry said. Local health authorities later reported that the number of injured had risen to nine. Three remain in serious condition: two have been hospitalized, while one received resuscitation at the scene. “One of the injured was transported to a medical facility by employees of the enterprise,” the Ust-Kamenogorsk health department said. Following the explosion, thick smoke rose above the plant, prompting specialists from the East Kazakhstan regional Department of Ecology to carry out air quality monitoring at the boundary of the sanitary protection zone. “We deployed a mobile laboratory to the sanitary protection zone first. Measurements have already been taken at two points, and we are now moving to a third point in the northwestern direction from the plant, following the wind,” said department head Aset Suleimenov. He added that four to five locations would be tested, primarily along the direction of the smoke plume. Results will be released later. Authorities subsequently confirmed that two people had died in the incident. Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov said he had taken the situation under personal control. “This morning I issued the necessary instructions regarding the explosion in Ust-Kamenogorsk. The Ministry of Emergency Situations, environmental authorities, and regional administrations must take all necessary measures and report back to me. This issue will remain under my personal control,” he said at a government meeting. The Kazzinc site in Ust-Kamenogorsk is a major metallurgical complex that includes zinc, lead, and copper production, as well as precious metals refining and sulfuric acid production. Ust-Kamenogorsk is considered one of Kazakhstan’s most environmentally affected cities, where the concentration of metallurgical enterprises frequently leads to air pollution levels exceeding permissible limits. Glencore, a multinational commodity trading and mining company, is a major shareholder in Kazzinc, which was established in 1997. The company is a major producer of zinc, as well as lead, copper, and precious metals.

Jeffrey Epstein

Epstein “Mosque” on Private Island Linked to Tiles from Uzbekistan

A report by The New York Times has revealed new details about how financier Jeffrey Epstein sourced materials from several countries, including Uzbekistan, for a controversial building he described as a “mosque” on his private Caribbean island. According to the newspaper, Epstein pursued Islamic architectural elements for years for a personal project on Little Saint James. Among the materials he sought were tiles from Uzbekistan, which he intended to use in the structure’s interior. In a 2011 email cited in the report, Epstein contacted an associate in Uzbekistan requesting “authentic tiles,” noting that “it will be for the inside walls, like a mosque.” The request was one of several attempts to obtain architectural and decorative elements associated with Islamic heritage. The building itself, described as a blue-and-white structure topped with a golden dome, has long drawn speculation about its purpose. Documents reviewed by the newspaper, including correspondence and design references, indicate that Epstein repeatedly referred to it as a “mosque,” although it remains unclear whether it was ever intended for religious use. The report says Epstein drew on design influences from across the Islamic world. In addition to tiles from Uzbekistan, he obtained tapestries connected to the Kaaba in Mecca and commissioned architectural elements modeled on historic sites in Syria. An artist involved in the project, Ion Nicola, told the newspaper that Epstein consistently described the structure in religious terms. However, some design instructions departed from traditional norms. In one instance, Epstein suggested replacing Arabic religious inscriptions with his own initials. The materials from Uzbekistan were part of an effort to create what the report describes as an “island shrine,” combining elements from different regions. The sourcing of the tiles points to the geographic reach of Epstein’s network and his attempts to obtain culturally specific materials for the project. The documents cited by the newspaper were released by the U.S. Department of Justice earlier this year and shed new light on Epstein’s activities and connections before his death in 2019.

Stalking

Kyrgyzstan Moves to Introduce Criminal Liability for Stalking

On April 30, Kyrgyzstan’s parliament, the Jogorku Kenesh, drafted amendments to the Criminal Code that would introduce criminal penalties for stalking. The proposed legislation defines stalking as the unlawful pursuit of an individual through persistent attempts to establish contact or conduct surveillance against their will, including via the internet, without the use of physical violence but resulting in physical or psychological suffering or material harm. Under the proposed amendments, stalking would be punishable by a fine or restriction of liberty for a period of six months to one year. More severe penalties are outlined for cases involving vulnerable groups. Stalking a pregnant woman, or a minor aged 14 to 18, could result in a fine, restriction of liberty for one to three years, or imprisonment for up to one year. Stalking a child under the age of 14 would carry a more severe prison sentence of three to five years. According to the bill’s explanatory note, the amendments are aimed at protecting citizens from unlawful harassment that threatens personal safety, psychological well-being, and the right to privacy. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, neighboring Kazakhstan introduced criminal liability for stalking in July 2025, when President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed amendments to the Criminal Code adding Article 115-1, titled “Stalking”.

Warsaw Convention

Kazakhstan Looks Abroad in Push to Recover Illegal Assets

Kazakhstan has taken a first step toward joining the Warsaw Convention, a Council of Europe treaty that would make it easier for prosecutors to follow suspected criminal assets across borders. The move remains tentative, however. The draft ratification law appeared on the Open NPA portal on April 23 with public discussion scheduled until May 20, but was removed to an archive two days later after the developer withdrew it for a “press release correction.” For now, the measure remains procedural. Its purpose is more concrete: to give prosecutors a stronger route into foreign jurisdictions where disputed wealth may sit behind companies, property, bank accounts, trusts, or nominees. The Warsaw Convention - formally called the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism - was opened for signature in Warsaw on May 16, 2005, and entered into force on May 1, 2008. Its purpose is practical. States that join it must maintain tools to identify criminal proceeds, freeze them, confiscate them, and cooperate with foreign authorities. For Kazakhstan, that framework would fit a campaign that has grown steadily since the unrest of January 2022. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has made the return of illegally acquired assets part of his wider domestic agenda, linking it to social justice, public finances, and the channeling of seized assets into public projects. A Campaign Moving Abroad Kazakhstan built the domestic legal base in 2023, when Tokayev signed the law on the return of illegally acquired assets to the state. This created procedures for identifying assets, negotiating voluntary returns, filing court claims, and managing property transferred to the state. It also applies to property located abroad when it was allegedly acquired with income illegally received in Kazakhstan. The system gained a sharper foreign component in January 2026, when a new Asset Recovery Service began work under the General Prosecutor’s Office. Its mandate includes representation in foreign courts, requests to freeze property, checks on asset origin, and direct cooperation with overseas authorities. Those tasks are exactly where domestic law alone often runs out of road. Assets rarely sit in one obvious place. They can be routed through companies, trusts, bank accounts, nominees, family members, or real estate in several countries. A Kazakh court order may be the start of a case, but it is far from the end of it. Foreign authorities usually need treaty channels, legal-assistance requests, and evidence that meets their own standards before they freeze or return property. Ratifying the Warsaw Convention would not solve those problems by itself, but it would give Kazakhstan another legal route for cooperation when cases cross borders. That could be important in corruption, money laundering, tax, organized crime, and terrorism-financing cases where property has moved through several jurisdictions. What the Convention Would Change The convention would add practical tools rather than automatic powers. It covers the tracing, freezing, seizure, and confiscation of criminal proceeds, and also applies to property used for financing terrorism, even when the...

Press Freedom

Turkmenistan Ranks 173rd in Global Press Freedom Index

Turkmenistan ranked 173rd out of 180 countries in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index, a slight improvement from 174th place in 2025. According to the report compiled by Reporters Without Borders (commonly known by its French acronym, RSF), the highest-ranked country in Central Asia was Kyrgyzstan in 146th place, followed by Uzbekistan (147th), Kazakhstan (149th), and Tajikistan (155th). Russia ranked 172nd, just one position above Turkmenistan. The authors note that Eastern Europe and Central Asia remain the second-worst-performing regions globally in the 2026 index. “The region is increasingly resembling a vast laboratory of inverted values, where legality is artificial and primarily serves the interests of those in power rather than protecting the right to information,” the report states. In Kazakhstan, RSF says tightening legal frameworks are combined with indirect pressure, increasing online harassment, and a climate of impunity. Kyrgyzstan, meanwhile, is following a similar trend, with declining legal protections for journalists. Among the lowest-ranked countries are Belarus, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Turkmenistan, all of which scored particularly poorly in the legal category, with ratings ranging from 22 to 32 out of 100. More broadly, the report highlights a global decline in press freedom. “For the first time in the history of the index, conditions in more than half of all countries are classified as ‘difficult’ or ‘very serious.’ Over 25 years of observation, the global average has never been this low,” the authors note. According to RSF, the introduction of laws restricting press freedom, often justified by national security concerns, has contributed to a steady deterioration in media conditions since 2001, affecting not only authoritarian states but also democracies. “The legal indicator saw the sharpest decline this year, reflecting the growing number of legal proceedings against journalists and media outlets,” the report concludes.