The key facts

  • The principal of school No. 83 in the Kumkurgan district demanded $2,000 for employment as a cleaner at a 0.75 rate
  • She was detained while receiving $1,900 and 1.2 million soums; the court sentenced her to 3 years' imprisonment with a 1.5-year ban on holding positions
  • Earlier, the head of the ecology department of the Jambay district was convicted for a bribe taken in the form of an all-in-one computer — 5 years' imprisonment

A $2,000 employment scheme

In the Kumkurgan district of Karakalpakstan, a court has sentenced the 40-year-old principal of school No. 83, identified in the case files as S.K. According to Kun.uz, citing the court document, the woman demanded $1,500 from L.T., who had approached her, for hiring her as a cleaner on a 0.5-rate position. In addition, she said she could, through officials of the district department of preschool and school education, open another 0.25 rate, for which a bribe of $400–500 would need to be given to department staff. In total, the principal asked for $2,000 for employment at a 0.75 rate.

Detention and admission of guilt

At the moment she received the agreed amount — $1,900 and 1.2 million soums — the woman was detained during an intelligence operation. In court, she fully admitted her guilt and asked for leniency. The victim, L.T., testified that she had told the principal she had no diploma, to which the latter replied that she would hire her, but that 'it would not happen by itself — there is a jackpot,' and named a sum of about $2,000. The principal's guilt was confirmed by witness testimony and other evidence.

The verdict

On 11 September 2026, the criminal cases panel of the Kumkurgan district court found S.K. guilty under Part 1 of Article 210 (bribe-taking) and Article 28, Part 1 of Article 211 (bribe-giving) of the Criminal Code. She was sentenced to 3 years' imprisonment, with a 1.5-year ban on holding positions involving material responsibility in state organizations. In addition, the convicted woman is barred from visiting cafes, bars, restaurants and mass events, and from leaving the Surkhandarya region without permission.

Similar cases

Kun.uz recalls a previously heard case: the head of the ecology department of the Jambay district, who received an all-in-one desktop computer as a bribe, was sentenced to 5 years' imprisonment. Both cases show that courts treat bribes for employment and official services as criminal offences carrying real prison terms, while the amounts and objects of the bribes in the cases differ markedly — from office equipment to several thousand dollars.