Housing fraud in Tajikistan: The prosecutor demanded 19 years in prison for the heads of the construction company “Muhammad 2009”

The prosecutor of the Shohmansur metropolitan district demanded 19 years in prison for each for two employees of the “Muhammad 2009” construction company.The brothers Nusratullo and Khokimjon Kurbonov are accused of fraud, falsification of documents and abuse of authority, Radio “Ozodi” reports.The investigation found out that during the construction of a high-rise building in the center of Dushanbe, the Kurbanov brothers sold one living space to two owners. In 2022, Nusratullo Kurbonov said in an interview with Radio “Ozodi” that “there was an error in customer placement and it will be fixed”.On August 27 of this year, the head of the “Kristall” company and another Kurbonov brother - Zafar Kurbonov - told “Ozodi” that Nusratullo and Hokimjon partially admitted their guilt and are ready to reimburse customers for their financial losses. He complained that after the arrest of the company's executives, financial management was transferred to their partner, Khukmiddin Zainiddinov.Khukmiddin Zainiddinov, authorized representative of “Horgas Haotong trade co Ltd” and Khokimjon Kurbonov signed a cooperation agreement in September 2021. The agreement provides for the distribution of an equal share of profits. Radio attempts to talk to Zainiddinov were unsuccessful.The clients of the “Muhammad 2009” company are concerned that the Kurbonovs may end up in prison, and their invested funds will be lost. They demand that the Kurbonovs provide them with new housing, or return the money.One of them, 60-year-old Rano Gadoeva, said that she sold her old house and invested in new housing from the “Muhammad 2009” company for 37 thousand dollars. However, she never received a new home and has been renting at her own expense for many years.The total number of affected customers was 450 people.“Asia-Plus” wrote about the torment of many shareholders of the “Muhammad 2009” company back in 2016 and in subsequent years.In recent years, with the increase in the construction of residential buildings in cities and regions of Tajikistan, complaints about the work of house-building companies have also increased. They are often criticized for the unfinished construction and their poor quality. Earlier, the Dushanbe City Hall ordered to tighten control over the work of construction companies, but this did not reduce criticism.