DUSHANBE (TCA) — One of the daughters of Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon has been appointed a deputy head of the country’s largest commercial bank, Orienbank, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reported.
Bank documents obtained by RFE/RL’s Tajik Service indicate that 23-year-old Zarina Rahmon was appointed to the post in January 2017. No public announcement has been made about the appointment.
The chief of Orienbank is Rahmon’s influential brother-in-law Hasan Asadullozoda.
Zarina Rahmon has reportedly studied in Great Britain. Her name first appeared in the Tajik media in 2010, during a two-month stint as a newscaster in state television’s English-language program, at the age of 16.
Rahmon has nine children. One of Rahmon’s daughters, Ozoda, is a Senator and the president’s chief of staff, while his eldest son, Rustam, is the mayor of the Tajik capital, Dushanbe.
Several other members of Rahmon’s family and relatives occupy important official positions or control major businesses.
Rahmon, who has been running the Central Asian nation since 1992, has been widely criticized for widespread corruption and cracking down on dissent.
Rahmon, who bears the official title of the Founder of Peace and National Unity — Leader of the Nation, has built a cult of his personality in Tajikistan, maintained by strong official propaganda in state-controlled media.
