Anti-Corruption Agency proposes liability for officials concealing government decisions, including budget allocations

The Anti-Corruption Agency has put forward a proposal to introduce legal accountability for government officials who withhold public access to state decisions, including details on budget allocations.

This proposition was unveiled during a public hearing held on July 28. At this event, the agency presented its findings from an examination of decisions marked as "hidden" within the government's E-qaror electronic decision-making system during the first six months of 2026.

The agency reported that it scrutinized 19,495 decisions and executive orders categorized as "hidden" between January and June. Inspectors determined that 775 of these had been kept from public view without any legal justification. In response, the agency issued 42 formal recommendations, instructing local authorities to make these documents public.

Jurabek Beshimov, an official with the Anti-Corruption Agency, noted a decrease in the number of non-public decisions since the agency implemented its monitoring system.

Tashkent city experienced the most significant reduction, with classified decisions falling by 13%. The figure also dropped by 6% in the Fergana region; by 5% in the Surkhandarya and Andijan regions; and by 4% in the Bukhara and Namangan regions, as well as the Republic of Karakalpakstan.

Beshimov further stated that the agency had issued repeated recommendations to organizations that failed to meet transparency requirements, leading to the publication of 648 documents that were previously concealed.

**Fewer Decisions Concealed from Public Disclosure**

Akmal Burkhanov, Director of the Anti-Corruption Agency, addressed social media criticism suggesting that the agency's recommendations lacked legal weight. He asserted that these recommendations impose specific obligations on government bodies.

"A recommendation is not merely a notification that we have identified a hidden decision. It requires the organization to explain why the decision was classified, publish it within the prescribed timeframe and take disciplinary action against the responsible employee. The organization must also report back to the agency within 10 days on the measures taken," he explained.

According to Burkhanov, every recommendation issued by the agency has been successfully implemented.

"First, the classified documents were made public. Second, appropriate measures were taken against those responsible for each improperly classified document. Under current legislation, such cases are generally addressed through disciplinary action or other measures imposed by supervisors," he elaborated.

Burkhanov added that the overall number of decisions withheld from public disclosure has significantly decreased since the agency was granted oversight powers in this area earlier this year.

**Administrative Liability Proposed**

Burkhanov also clarified why officials currently cannot face administrative liability for unjustifiably classifying government decisions.

"That is a fair question. Presidential decree No. 270 provides for liability in such cases, but the Code of Administrative Responsibility does not yet contain the relevant provision. Together with the relevant ministries and agencies, we have therefore prepared draft amendments to the code. If they are adopted, administrative liability will apply to every unjustifiably classified decision," he stated.

This issue has garnered increasing public attention in recent years. Previously, it was reported that local administrations withheld 24,200 documents from public disclosure during the first half of 2026, representing 28.5% of all decisions they adopted. Among these were 692 decisions allocating UZS 1.5 trillion (approximately $125 million), despite containing no information legally exempt from disclosure. More than half of these funds were designated for construction projects.