WORLD BRIEFING / TAJIKISTAN
A chairman of Tajikistan’s central bank diverted $856 million to a firm run by himself and his family, according to an independent audit on the bank’s website.
The Ernst & Young audit said that under Murodali Alimardonov’s stewardship from 1996 to 2008, the Tajikistan National Bank paid about $856 million to his Credit-Invest firm, a general-purpose investment concern.
Gross financial irregularities are common in the former Soviet republic, which borders China and Afghanistan in central Asia. The International Monetary Fund last year demanded repayment of $47 million in loans amid charges that Tajik authorities doctored data on national reserves.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
