The Anti-Corruption Agency, together with the National Center for Archeology, the Cultural Heritage Agency and other relevant agencies, conducted a study on the basis of an appeal received by the Agency regarding damage to the territory of the Vardonze Fortress archaeological site in Bukhara Region.

For reference: Vardonze Fortress archaeological site of the 4th -15th centuries is under state protection and is registered as an object of tangible cultural heritage in the National List of Real Estate Objects of Tangible Cultural Heritage No. 603, approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of October 4, 2019 ‘On Approval of the National List of Real Estate Objects of Tangible Cultural Heritage’.

In accordance with Paragraph 11 of the Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan of November 28, 2018 ‘On approval of the Concept for further development of national culture in the Republic of Uzbekistan’, a proposal was submitted to UNESCO on 4th October 2021 to include the object in the list of the World Heritage Sites.

During the study, it was revealed that the head of ‘Tuymurod Kholmurod Ugli’ Farm in Shofirkon District of Bukhara Region without obtaining the necessary documents from the relevant departments, carried out excavation, land management, planting and land reclamation work using heavy equipment and there by expanding the area of ​​farmland at the expense of the territories of the archaeological site. This led to the loss of the cultural layer of the central (Rabod) part of the object, the loss of saxaul trees in the area and ancient historical finds preserved under the ground.

According to the documents of the district administration of 2013, the protected area of ​​the archeological site was 124 hectares. However, in 2015, the administration illegally set the area of ​​the site at 76 hectares without the consent of the relevant agencies.

The decreased land area was given to the farm as pasture, but in practice the farmer turned it into a crop area.

The study showed that 1800 square meters of the central part of the archaeological site suffered serious damage and which harmed the interests of the state in the amount of 26 billion 730 million soums.

Based on the documents collected by the Agency, the Prosecutor General’s Office initiated a criminal case under Part 2 of Article 132 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The criminal case was sent to the Bukhara Regional Prosecutor’s Office for preliminary investigation.

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The Anti-Corruption Agency