HOW THE INTERPOL DIRECTOR MADE MONEY ON REAL ESTATE IN THE UAE AND TAJIKISTAN?

We continue our joint journalistic investigations with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project – OCCRP.

Today we will talk about one of the important “cogs” in the repressive machine of Emomali Rahmon. Having worked in the law enforcement agencies of the republic for almost three decades and earning a rather meager salary, this person managed to buy four apartments in Dushanbe, a house in the south of the country, but most importantly – an apartment in one of the elite areas in Dubai. This time we will tell you about the director of the National Central Bureau of Interpol in Tajikistan, Shahriyor Nazriyev.

According to our calculations, an average law enforcement officer in Tajikistan would need to work continuously for at least forty years to gather enough money for just one apartment of Nazriyev’s in Dubai, which costs $120,000. But as we can see, the Interpol director in Tajikistan does not live paycheck to paycheck.

So, according to documents that have come into our hands, Shahriyor Nazriyev purchased his property in the United Arab Emirates in 2012. The apartment is located in the Jumeirah Village Circle area at Emirates Garden-1 G-2. It is 14 kilometers from the world-famous artificial island “Palm Jumeirah.”

Photo: Internet

The apartment is located in a four-story building with a penthouse on the roof. The property features a 13-meter swimming pool, a gym, and parking spaces for cars. Nearby, there are two large parks with a tennis court, a basketball court, and an entertainment center.

Photo: Internet

Literally across the road from Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed is the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, as well as the Dubai Autodrome, where car racing competitions are held.

Photo: Internet

Shahriyor Nazriyev acquired the apartment, which is approximately 49 square meters, for about $120,000 according to our data. According to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, such an apartment is worth $93,000. However, on the market, the price for an apartment of the same size in the same residential complex is nearly $200,000.

We do not have photos from inside Nazriyev’s apartment, but judging by the images of other apartments from the same building on the Propertyfinder platform, they belong to the business class – with expensive renovations and elite furniture.

As you can understand, our search did not stop in Dubai, and we found the Interpol director in Tajikistan has other properties in his homeland. According to the Tajik real estate registry, four apartments in Dushanbe are registered in the name of Shahriyor Nazriyev.

The first apartment is located in a two-story Stalin-era building at Bofanda, 12. The interesting aspect here is the location – the building is 270 meters from the main avenue of the capital, Rudaki.

Photo: Internet

The second apartment is located in building number 40 on Pushkin Street. This building is also close to Rudaki Avenue, but 420 meters away.

Photo: Internet

The third apartment is located near the Botanical Garden of Dushanbe at Karamov, 13/1. Interestingly, this apartment is also close to Rudaki Avenue, just 275 meters away.

Photo: Internet

The fourth apartment is located at Makhmadali Kurbonov, 4. The residential building is directly opposite the Navoi and Jami parks. It is 590 meters from the main avenue of the city.

Photo: Internet

In addition to the apartments, Shahriyor Nazriyev apparently owns a private house in his hometown in the Khovaling district.

Now let’s take a look at the career path of our hero, which is, believe me, important. Shahriyor Nazriyev will turn 50 in September. He is a typical promising official for the regime of Emomali Rahmon. He was born, as it is commonly referred to in Tajikistan, in a region loyal to Rahmon – the former Kulyab region. He began his service in law enforcement in 1995. His career started as an operational officer in the Department for Combating Organized Crime of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and as the chief operational officer for particularly important cases in the same department. For a time, he was transferred to the Customs Service. But then he was returned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In July 2021, he was appointed director of the National Central Bureau of Interpol in Tajikistan. Partly, Shahriyor Nazriyev’s career rise may have been facilitated by his father, the late Jurabek Nazri, who was a well-known scholar and singer in Tajikistan.

Photo: Internet

At the beginning, we did not accidentally refer to Shahriyor Nazriyev as one of the important “cogs” in Emomali Rahmon’s repressive machine. During his tenure in the current position, with the direct assistance of Interpol, dozens of critics of Emomali Rahmon from abroad were brought to Tajikistan.

Sharofiddin Gadoyev, oppositionist:

“The Rahmon regime systematically abuses the Interpol system to pursue and suppress activists abroad. Every time I was detained in the European Union, – I was detained in Spain, Poland, and other European countries – after investigations, they understood that my presence in the Interpol system had a political nature. After that, I was released. But it still affects the movement of political activists, even within the European Union.”

According to human rights defenders, from 2014 to 2023, the government of Tajikistan ranked among the top five out of 44 countries in terms of transnational persecution and repression. In 2023 alone, more than two hundred citizens of Tajikistan were extradited at the request of Dushanbe. 

Sharofiddin Gadoev, opposition figure:

“Tajikistan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs officers use the Interpol mechanism as a tool for blackmail and intimidation of businessmen and other citizens. In this way, they obtain large sums of money through extortion and threats. This is not only within Interpol; the entire law enforcement system that exists in Tajikistan operates this way. This is a corrupt scheme. All the property they have, these millions of dollars, is obtained through extortion and blackmail of the citizens of Tajikistan.”

According to human rights defender Steve Sverdlov, the Tajikistan Interpol bureau plays a key role in the persecution of critics and opponents of Emomali Rahmon.

According to various sources, the authorities of Tajikistan are currently searching for more than three thousand people, among whom are hundreds of government critics. In the past, Interpol included even the names of leaders and activists of the Tajik opposition in its database of red notices. Later, under pressure from human rights defenders, the leadership of this organization removed the red notices.

Currently, the official Interpol website lists the names of only 39 citizens of Tajikistan. Among them are no political names. However, despite this, the regime’s fruitful hunt for opposition members, activists, and journalists around the world continues. A significant role in this matter is played by the former Tajik police officer, now the director of the National Central Bureau of Interpol in Tajikistan, Shahriyor Nazriyev.