Police officers in Uzbekistan have uncovered a series of corruption schemes involving officials across multiple regions, leading to several arrests during coordinated operations.

The operations were carried out by officers of the Uzbek State Security Service together with the General Prosecutor’s Office and internal affairs bodies, targeting suspected illegal activities by public officials, The Caspian Post reports via Podrobno.uz.

In the Khorezm Region, an inspector from the public order department was detained after demanding $4,500 to help arrange employment in internal affairs bodies. He was caught receiving part of the money, including $1,800 and 2.4 million Uzbek sums.

In the Tashkent Region, a district education official was arrested after reportedly requesting money for issuing sanitary and fire safety approvals for a private kindergarten. A separate inspection also stopped illegal actions by a local emergency services inspector.

In the Karakalpakstan, a resident was found to have received 7 million sums in exchange for promises to increase work experience records for pension benefits, using connections within the Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction.

Criminal cases have been opened under relevant articles of the Criminal Code, with investigations ongoing.

Officials are also urging citizens to report corruption cases via the hotline 1520, assuring confidentiality for all reports.