State audit reveals billions in budget misuse and conflicts of interest

According to Abdullayev, audits conducted via the remote auditing information system last year revealed that 2.3 trillion UZS of budgetary expenditures were spent illegally.

"Over the course of the year, contracts totaling 998 billion UZS were signed in violation of public procurement legislation. Furthermore, conflicts of interest were found in the awarding of contracts worth 326 billion UZS. In budgetary institutions, salary expenditures were overstated by 103 billion UZS. Additionally, 728 billion UZS in taxes were not paid to the state budget. Thanks to this system, financial mismanagement in contracts totaling 1.6 trillion UZS was prevented," the Accounts Chamber official stated.

Abdullayev also noted that 42 audit inspections were carried out throughout the year to evaluate the efficiency and legality of budget expenditures. As a result of these investigations, financial errors and irregularities amounting to 2.2 trillion UZS were uncovered.

"Additional revenue sources worth 621 billion UZS were identified for the state budget, of which 364 billion UZS were recovered. Moreover, illegal expenditures totaling 58 billion UZS were prevented. Annual budget expenditures were reduced by 9.3 trillion UZS," he added.

During the reporting period, public procurement contracts were also subject to separate audit procedures. These audits revealed legal violations amounting to 5.4 trillion UZS in public procurement agreements. In addition, data on 3.6 trillion UZS worth of contracts were not uploaded to the open information systems, despite transparency requirements.

Last year, some supplier companies delivering goods, services, and works to government agencies understated tax obligations by 16.4 trillion UZS in turnover generated from budgetary funds. As a result, 1.8 trillion UZS in taxes were not assessed for the state budget.