RICH WIFE OF THE PRIME MINISTER OF A POOR COUNTRY

Today we (Azda.tv) present a new format – investigative journalism, which we have prepared in collaboration with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

Many considered her a modest housewife, but in reality, she turned out to be the owner of a multimillion-dollar fortune – two villas in Dubai, a house in Dushanbe, numerous apartments in Khujand, and many other properties in different regions of the country. If it weren’t for her husband, perhaps no one would have even noticed her. But, as is often the case in corrupt countries, it can be assumed that all her real estate was actually purchased with her husband’s illegal money.

Photo: Internet

So, we present to you our investigation into Ikbolkhon Nazirova, the wife of the Prime Minister of Tajikistan, Kohir Rasulzoda.

What is known about Ikbolkhon Nazirova

She is the wife of a typical official in Tajikistan. There is almost no information about her in open sources. If it weren’t for an article by her husband’s former press secretary, the public might not even know her name. Ilkhom Jamalion describes her in a complimentary article about Kohir Rasulzoda as a “modest caring housewife who is also distinguished by an unstoppable desire to create beauty.”

Jamalion writes that he met Nazirova when she accompanied her husband on his official trips as the governor of the region.

“I never thought that the wife of the head of the region would come to collect cotton and surprise everyone with her harvest,” quotes the former employee the words of one businessman about Nazirova. “She picked cotton like a machine and was always at the forefront.”

We also learned from open sources that during her husband’s governorship in the Sughd region, Ikbolkhon Nazirova served as the deputy director of the “Kohi Rudaki” Palace of Culture in Khujand. She organized various cultural events there and also took patronage over the women’s dance ensemble “Chamanoro.” For her active promotion of culture, she was even awarded the badge of “Excellence in Culture of the Republic of Tajikistan.”

Photo: Internet

After her husband transitioned to the position of Prime Minister and moved to Dushanbe in February 2014, Ikbolkhon Nazirova was appointed director of cultural programs for the SCO summits at the Ministry of Culture. And that is all that is known about her.

Property of the Prime Minister’s Wife

Now to the main point – the property of Ikbolkhon Nozirova. The editorial team of Azda TV and the investigative team of OCCRP have obtained data on foreign real estate in Dubai. The materials became available as a result of a massive data leak regarding real estate in the Arab Emirates.

According to the documents, it became known that the wife of the Tajik Prime Minister is the owner of two two-story villas in Dubai. Ikbolkhon Nozirova’s villas are located 200 meters apart in Mira Oasis III, a gated community that features an amphitheater, basketball court, mosque, dog park, swimming pools, volleyball court, and landscaped paths.

Photo: Internet

The first villa, with an area of 284 square meters, is priced at $737,700: it has several bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as a separate room for staff. The second villa, with an area of 270 square meters, is priced at $699,800: it also has several bedrooms.

It appears that both villas were purchased with the help of the Prime Minister’s daughter, designer Farangis Azimova – she left her phone number as contact information when buying the property.

Farangis holds Russian citizenship but apparently lives in Dubai with her husband, businessman Zafar Azimov, the son of former Prime Minister Yahyo Azimov. Judging by her photos on Instagram, she often travels and enjoys a luxurious lifestyle in various countries, including France, the UK, Austria, and the Czech Republic.

Photo: Internet

She also owns a villa in Meadows, a gated community in central Dubai, surrounded by an artificial lake. Land documents show that she purchased a two-story mansion in the X style for over $5.4 million when she was 24 years old.

It is unclear how she could afford such luxurious real estate: whether the source of funds for the purchase was her family, husband, or herself. In any case, the question remains: how could she afford to invest millions in Dubai real estate at such a young age.

Let’s return to the topic of the property of Farangis’s mother. Our investigative group, in addition to the real estate in Dubai, discovered that Ikbolkhon Nozirova owns eight more properties in Tajikistan. According to the Tajik real estate registry, the Prime Minister’s wife owns four apartments in Buston city in the Sughd region at house number five on Friendship of Peoples Street. In the neighboring city of Kayrakkum, a recreation area is registered in her name. In Khujand, she has a house and the Vatan Hotel on Nizomi Ganjavi and Hakim Karimi streets. And in Dushanbe, at 72 Tolstoy Street, Nozirova has another house.

The question arises, where does the wife of the Prime Minister of Tajikistan get so much money to acquire real estate?

The President of the Oxus Society, an analytical center in Washington, Edward Lemon, who specializes in Central Asia, links everything to the high level of corruption in Tajikistan.

Photo: Internet

“We know that Tajikistan is ruled by a kleptocratic political system, where the cream of the state and economy is gathered by various representatives of the elite, family members of the president, and others, such as Rasulzoda. And although he has a small salary, we have now received reports that he and his family may control and own certain real estate in Dubai. This is not surprising, given the level of corruption in the country, where he uses his political position to accumulate personal wealth and support his various business interests.”

Who is Kohir Rasulzoda?

Since we are talking about the spouse of the Tajik Prime Minister, it naturally raises the question of who Kohir Rasulzoda is. Who is he, where is he from, and how did he end up in the Prime Minister’s chair? Let’s break it down step by step.

It is worth noting that despite his high position, the Prime Minister in Tajikistan is not the head of government, as is commonly accepted in other countries. In Tajikistan, the executive power is entirely led by the unchanging president, Emomali Rahmon, for the past 33 years. Nevertheless, Rasulzoda is one of the key figures in Tajikistan. In the official hierarchy, he is considered the fourth person in the country.

Edward Lemon, President of the Oxus Society: “The role of the Prime Minister in Tajikistan is mainly ceremonial: he meets with the heads of government of other countries, represents Tajikistan on the world stage, and, of course, leads the cabinet of ministers within the country. But this is a super-presidential system, which places great importance on President Emomali Rahmon himself, and the Prime Minister is less influential than many other cabinet members, including people like Saymumin Yatimov, the head of the national security service, or the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and various other figures in the government, such as Prosecutor General Yusuf Rahmon, who are much more influential and hold more power in the country than Rasulzoda.”

However, despite the ceremonial nature of his position, Kohir Rasulzoda has been working in public service for over 20 years.

“Of course, he has had significant experience working in parliament as deputy speaker and previous experience as the country’s Minister of Energy, so he has had a mixed government portfolio, and probably he did not have too many personal ambitions in terms of career growth within the very authoritarian political system of Tajikistan. I think for these reasons he was chosen as Prime Minister,” says Edward Lemon, President of the Oxus Society.

I would like to remind you that according to the law, the Prime Minister of Tajikistan cannot engage in business — neither directly nor through trusted individuals. Furthermore, he is also prohibited from owning real estate in foreign countries. A special law was passed by parliament several years ago.

P.S. Almost forgot. In August 2018, a popular park in the capital, “Komsomolskoye Lake,” was reopened in Dushanbe after reconstruction, renamed “Youth Lake.” At that time, the press service of the President of Tajikistan reported that during the reconstruction of the park area, over 15,000 square meters were paved with tiles and 18,000 square meters were landscaped. For park lighting, 267 lamp posts ranging from 3 to 12 meters were installed. In photos from the opening ceremony of the renovated park, you can see how Kokhir Rasulzoda accompanies Emomali Rahmon, showing and actively telling something. A day after this event, local media reported that the “Youth Lake” park was reconstructed at the expense of the personal funds of the Prime Minister of Tajikistan. However, Tajik journalists did not investigate where Kokhir Rasulzoda got so much money for the park renovation.