Thirteenth accomplice in the kidnapping of First Deputy Hasan Asadullozoda detained

The law enforcement agencies of Tajikistan reported that the 13th suspect in the case of the abduction of Shukhrat Ismatulloev has been detained abroad and extradited to Tajikistan.

The press center of the General Prosecutor’s Office of Tajikistan reports that 28-year-old Bakhtovar Safarov “left Tajikistan a day after the crime – on June 24, 2023, and hid in Turkey.”

“As a result of operational investigative measures in Turkey, another participant of the organized criminal group that committed the abduction and murder of the first deputy head of the joint-stock company was detained and delivered to Tajikistan,” the statement notes.

According to the source, in connection with the “abduction and murder of the first deputy chairman of OJSC ‘Orionbank’ Ismatulloev Shukhrat Abdulgaforovich, 13 suspects have been detained.

“Currently, the leader and 15 participants of the organized criminal group have been identified in the criminal case, 13 of whom have already been detained and taken into custody,” the General Prosecutor’s Office statement notes.

Shukhrat Ismatulloev, the first deputy chairman of OJSC ‘Orionbank’ Khasan Asadullozoda, the brother-in-law of the President of Tajikistan, was abducted on June 23 at his home. The kidnappers took him towards the Varzob district.

Although the General Prosecutor’s Office of Tajikistan claims that Shukhrat Ismatulloev was killed, his body has not yet been found. The search for the banker’s body has been ongoing for more than 50 days. This fact has raised many speculations and theories among the public.