Uzbekistan has strengthened legal guarantees for the independence of compliance service employees in state bodies and organizations, and expanded their powers in the field of anti-corruption.

The relevant law was signed by the president on June 22. The new norms are designed to increase the effectiveness of internal anti-corruption control and provide additional protection for specialists who identify corruption violations.

According to the document, compliance unit employees have received the right to freely visit facilities of subordinate organizations, familiarize themselves with necessary documents and information, and submit proposals regarding identified corruption violations.

The law also defines the procedure for cases where signs of a corruption offense are detected in the head of an agency or there are sufficient grounds to believe that he is patronizing a criminal group. In such situations, the deputy head for compliance, in coordination with a higher compliance service, can directly send relevant documents and information to law enforcement agencies.

A separate block of changes concerns guarantees for the protection of compliance service employees. Now a criminal case against them can only be initiated by the Prosecutor General.

The adopted measures are expected to strengthen the independence of compliance units, increase the effectiveness of the fight against corruption within state bodies, and create additional conditions for the effective functioning of internal control systems.

Source: podrobno.uz