Former Namangan mayor jailed for 11 years in bribery and land-fraud scheme

Anvarjon Otakhojaev, the former mayor of Namangan city, has been handed an 11-year prison sentence by a district criminal court in Namangan. Province court officials announced that Otakhojaev was found guilty on seven distinct criminal charges, including embezzlement, fraud, abuse of power, and bribery.

The verdict, issued by the Uzbekistan district criminal court and reported by Fergana province courts, concludes a legal process that began with Otakhojaev's arrest by the State Security Service (DXX) in September 2025. This arrest occurred less than two years after he assumed leadership of one of the Fergana Valley's major cities.

**Court Findings**

Judges convicted Otakhojaev under six articles of the criminal code, indicating a pattern of alleged misconduct that prosecutors contend occurred throughout his term in office.

Under Article 59 of the criminal code, the court imposed a cumulative sentence of 11 years in prison. Additionally, he faces a three-year ban, effective after his release, from holding any position involving administrative or financial responsibility. This effectively prohibits him from public office and management roles for a significant period beyond his incarceration.

Otakhojaev was not the sole defendant. Four co-defendants were also convicted in connection with the case: three received prison sentences ranging from seven to 10.5 years, two were sentenced to two years and six months of corrective labor, and one was given three years of restricted freedom, which is a form of supervised release under Uzbek law.

**The Core Scheme**

Investigators state that the case revolves around a problematic land transaction. Otakhojaev is accused of conspiring with the head of a shoe-manufacturing company, allegedly promising to secure the businessman's rights to construct a multi-story residential complex on a 35-sotix plot (approximately 3,500 square meters, or about 0.87 acres) within the city limits.

In return, prosecutors allege that Otakhojaev and his associates demanded $60,000 from the businessman. Investigators characterize this sum as a bribe directly linked to Otakhojaev's mayoral authority over land allocation decisions.

**A Brief Term in Office**

Otakhojaev's removal from office was swift in relation to his time in the position. Appointed mayor of Namangan in December 2023, he was dismissed from the post and taken into custody by security services less than two years later, in September 2025.

Born in Namangan in 1972, Otakhojaev's career was largely within the province's administrative and technical sectors. He earned two degrees from the Namangan Engineering-Economic Institute in 1994 and 2002, and completed further training at the Academy of Public Administration under the President of Uzbekistan in 2011. These credentials are typical of the technocratic path often followed by senior province officials before attaining mayoral positions in Uzbekistan.

The verdict is not yet final. Under Uzbek law, both the prosecution and the defense have the right to appeal or contest the first-instance ruling before the Fergana province court, through the standard appellate or cassation process, within the legally stipulated timeframe. The sentence formally remains subject to review until that window closes or an appeal is resolved.