Head of Kyrgyzstan’s GKNB Announces Victory Over Organized Crime and ‘Thieves-in-Law’

Kamchybek Tashiyev. Photo courtesy of akipress.org

Kamchybek Tashiyev, chairman of Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security (GKNB), declared that law enforcement agencies have successfully dismantled organized crime by cutting off financial flows that funded criminal groups. Tashiyev made the announcement during a press conference on December 17, Kloop reports.

According to the GKNB chief, there will no longer be any “overseers” or “thieves-in-law” operating in the republic. The remaining members of criminal organizations, Tashiyev emphasized, are now left “empty-handed.”

“Now, people can live peacefully without fear of bandits, and entrepreneurs can work without concern,” the security chief stated.

Tashiyev added that assets belonging to many “thieves-in-law,” including Kamchy Kolbayev, Kadyrbek Dosonov, Erkin Mambetaliev, and Chyngyz Jumagulov, have been returned to the state. As a result of actions taken against organized crime groups, 50 billion soms ($575 million) in cash and property have been recovered. Three confiscated resorts have already been sold, he noted.

Expanding on the topic, Tashiyev reported that since October 2020, over 168 billion soms ($1.9 billion) have been returned to the state budget in corruption cases. He also mentioned that assets such as Kapital Bank, previously owned by the late former parliamentary speaker Chanybai Tursunbekov and valued at approximately 2 billion soms ($23 million), and the Bishkek Distillery have been reclaimed by the state.

Tashiyev further revealed that Tursunbekov’s widow had been in contact with fraudsters who, in collaboration with foreign intelligence operatives, attempted to entrap the GKNB chairman by offering a $5 million bribe. However, Kyrgyz security forces uncovered the scheme and thwarted the operation. All suspects have been detained, and the funds have been transferred to the state.