A joint investigative report by Azda TV and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) has exposed yet another hidden figure among Tajikistan’s corruption-tainted officials.
In this article, you will learn about a state employee who does not earn a particularly high salary and appears to live on a standard government wage, yet has acquired lavish homes inside Tajikistan and abroad.
A question that has preoccupied the minds of most people in Tajikistan regarding the income of state officials is this: how can an ordinary employee—or even a high-ranking official—whose life depends solely on a government salary buy multiple homes and vacation properties, and even purchase a home in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and where does the money for these assets come from?
In this joint investigation with OCCRP, Azda TV has lifted the veil on one such official whose sources of wealth appear questionable.
FULL INVESTIGATION TEXT
Azda TV’s investigation today is about one of the key elements of Emomali Rahmon’s repressive machine. He has worked in the country’s security agencies for more than thirty years on a meager salary, yet has managed to acquire four apartments in Dushanbe, a house in the south of the country, and—most importantly—a luxury home in one of Dubai’s most upscale neighborhoods. Today we are talking about Shahriyor Nazriev, head of the National Central Bureau of Interpol at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan.
By our calculations, to buy just one $120,000 home in Dubai, a law enforcement officer would, on average, need to work for at least 40 years. Yet, as we can see, the head of Tajikistan’s Interpol bureau cannot get by on salary alone.
According to documents that reached us, Shahriyor Nazriev purchased his real estate in the United Arab Emirates in 2012.
The luxury home is located in Jumeirah Village Circle, Emirates Gardens 1 complex, G 2. From here, it is 14 kilometers to the world-famous artificial island of Palm Jumeirah. The apartment is in a four-story building, with a lavish terrace on the roof as well.
Photo: InternetThe premises include a 13-meter swimming pool, a gym, and designated parking spaces.
In front of the building there are two large parks, a tennis court, a basketball court, and an entertainment center.
Photo: InternetOn the other side of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road are the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and the Dubai Autodrome, where car races are held.
Photo: InternetAccording to information we obtained, Shahriyor Nazriev bought this 49-square-meter home for $120,000. According to OCCRP, the original price of such a home is $93,000. However, on the market, a comparable home of the same size in this complex is worth about $200,000. We do not have photos of the inside of Nazriev’s home, but based on images of similar units on the Propertyfinder website, it can be said that this is a “business-class” property with expensive renovations and luxury furnishings.
Of course, we did not limit ourselves to searches in Dubai alone; we also found real estate belonging to the head of Tajikistan’s Interpol bureau in Tajikistan. According to the state real estate registration registry, four apartments in Dushanbe are registered in the name of Nazriev Shahriyor.
One of them is in a two-story Stalin-era building at 12 Bofanda Street. The apartment is in a prime location—just 270 meters from the capital’s main avenue, Rudaki Avenue.
Photo: InternetNazriev’s second apartment is at 40 Pushkin Street. This apartment is also close to Rudaki Avenue—at a distance of 420 meters.
Photo: InternetThe third apartment is near the Dushanbe Botanical Garden, at 13/1 Karamov Street. Interestingly, this apartment is also near Rudaki Avenue, 275 meters away.
Photo: InternetThe fourth home of the head of Tajikistan’s Interpol bureau is located at 4 Mahmadali Qurbonov Street. The residential building is opposite the park named after Alisher Navoi and Abdurahmon Jomi. From this building to the capital’s main avenue is 590 meters.
Photo: InternetIn addition to homes in the capital and Dubai, Shahriyor Nazriev apparently also has a house in his hometown in Khovaling District.
Now let us look at the work history of today’s subject, because this point is very important. In September of this year, Shahriyor Nazriev turns 50. He is a typical, promising official in Emomali Rahmon’s regime. He was born in a region loyal to Rahmon—the former Kulob Province.
Shahriyor Nazriev began his career in law enforcement in 1995. He first worked in the internal affairs bodies as an оператив officer in the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and as a senior оператив officer for especially important cases in the same directorate. For a time, he was transferred to the Customs Service. But later he returned to the internal affairs bodies. Since July 2021, he has been appointed and has been serving as head of the National Central Bureau of “Interpol” at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
One reason he may have risen to senior positions is his father, Jurabek Nazri. He was a well-known scholar and singer in Tajikistan.
At the outset, we did not call Shahriyor Nazriev one of the key elements of Emomali Rahmon’s repressive machine for nothing. During Nazriev’s tenure in this post, in cooperation with Interpol, dozens of Emomali Rahmon’s critics were detained abroad and rendered to Tajikistan.
According to human rights defenders’ calculations, from 2014 to 2023 the government of Tajikistan ranked among the five worst countries out of 44 worldwide for repression and transnational persecution. In 2023 alone, more than 200 Tajik citizens were rendered at Dushanbe’s request.
As human rights advocate Steve Swerdlow told Azda TV, the Interpol bureau in Tajikistan played the key role in the persecution and repression of Emomali Rahmon’s critics.
According to various sources, Tajik authorities are currently searching for more than 3,000 people, including hundreds of government critics. Previously, Interpol had even placed leaders and activists of the Tajik opposition on wanted lists. Later, under pressure from human rights defenders, the organization’s leadership removed their names from the list of individuals sought with high priority.
At present, on Interpol’s official website one can find only the names of 39 Tajik citizens. None of them appear to be political activists. Nevertheless, the regime continues its effective hunt for opposition figures, activists, and journalists around the world. And in this hunt, the role of Shahriyor Nazriev—a former Tajik милиса officer and now head of Interpol’s National Central Bureau in Tajikistan—is far from insignificant.