• Home
  • Politics
  • Health
  • World
  • Business
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • More
    • Sports
    • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
What's Hot

Why Music Is Essential To Holistic Care

June 16, 2025

What Are The 5 Holistic Wellness Benefits Of Tantric Massage In London?

June 13, 2025

Big Tech Whistles Along While World Rides Trump-Musk Rollercoaster

June 12, 2025
Facebook Twitter Instagram
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
Monday, June 16
Patriot Now NewsPatriot Now News
  • Home
  • Politics

    Security video shows brazen sexual assault of California woman by homeless man

    October 24, 2023

    Woman makes disturbing discovery after her boyfriend chases away home intruder who stabbed him

    October 24, 2023

    Poll finds Americans overwhelmingly support Israel’s war on Hamas, but younger Americans defend Hamas

    October 24, 2023

    Off-duty pilot charged with 83 counts of attempted murder after allegedly trying to shut off engines midflight on Alaska Airlines

    October 23, 2023

    Leaked audio of Shelia Jackson Lee abusively cursing staffer

    October 22, 2023
  • Health

    Disparities In Cataract Care Are A Sorry Sight

    October 16, 2023

    Vaccine Stocks—Including Pfizer, Moderna, BioNTech And Novavax—Slide Amid Plummeting Demand

    October 16, 2023

    Long-term steroid use should be a last resort

    October 16, 2023

    Rite Aid Files For Bankruptcy With More ‘Underperforming Stores’ To Close

    October 16, 2023

    Who’s Still Dying From Complications Related To Covid-19?

    October 16, 2023
  • World

    New York Democrat Dan Goldman Accuses ‘Conservatives in the South’ of Holding Rallies with ‘Swastikas’

    October 13, 2023

    IDF Ret. Major General Describes Rushing to Save Son, Granddaughter During Hamas Invasion

    October 13, 2023

    Black Lives Matter Group Deletes Tweet Showing Support for Hamas 

    October 13, 2023

    AOC Denounces NYC Rally Cheering Hamas Terrorism: ‘Unacceptable’

    October 13, 2023

    L.A. Prosecutors Call Out Soros-Backed Gascón for Silence on Israel

    October 13, 2023
  • Business

    Big Tech Whistles Along While World Rides Trump-Musk Rollercoaster

    June 12, 2025

    May Inflation Data ‘Bodes Very Well’ For US Economy, Analysts Say

    June 11, 2025

    Google Begs Employees To Quit As It Turbocharges AI Spending

    June 11, 2025

    Self-Driving Taxis Steer Clear Of LA Migrant Riots

    June 10, 2025

    Small Business Owners’ Optimism Rebounded In May, Economists Say

    June 10, 2025
  • Finance

    Ending China’s De Minimis Exception Brings 3 Benefits for Americans

    April 17, 2025

    The Trump Tariff Shock Should Push Indonesia to Reform Its Economy

    April 17, 2025

    Tariff Talks an Opportunity to Reinvigorate the Japan-US Alliance

    April 17, 2025

    How China’s Companies Are Responding to the US Trade War

    April 16, 2025

    The US Flip-flop Over H20 Chip Restrictions 

    April 16, 2025
  • Tech

    Cruz Confronts Zuckerberg on Pointless Warning for Child Porn Searches

    February 2, 2024

    FTX Abandons Plans to Relaunch Crypto Exchange, Commits to Full Repayment of Customers and Creditors

    February 2, 2024

    Elon Musk Proposes Tesla Reincorporates in Texas After Delaware Judge Voids Pay Package

    February 2, 2024

    Tesla’s Elon Musk Tops Disney’s Bob Iger as Most Overrated Chief Executive

    February 2, 2024

    Mark Zuckerberg’s Wealth Grew $84 Billion in 2023 as Pedophiles Target Children on Facebook, Instagram

    February 2, 2024
  • More
    • Sports
    • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
Patriot Now NewsPatriot Now News
Home»Finance»Tajikistan Criminalizes Electricity Use Fraud Amid Energy Crisis
Finance

Tajikistan Criminalizes Electricity Use Fraud Amid Energy Crisis

April 9, 2025No Comments4 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Tajikistan Criminalizes Electricity Use Fraud Amid Energy Crisis
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

On April 5, the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources of Tajikistan announced amendments to the country’s criminal code, introducing prison sentences for electricity use fraud. The move is a first in Central Asia, where illegal electricity consumption usually is an administrative offense, punishable by fines.

The amendments to the criminal code followed a March 27 closed government meeting, during which President Emomali Rahmon voiced concerns over “the irrational use of electricity and losses exceeding acceptable norms” and instructed introducing criminal liability for the illegal use of electricity and failure to pay for it. The bill, immediately drafted by the Ministry of Justice and swiftly approved by the country’s parliament, amended Article 253 of Tajikistan’s Criminal Code – causing property damage through deception or abuse of trust.

Article 253 now stipulates that altering electricity meter readings or bypassing the meter to avoid payment, if committed within one year of an administrative penalty, will result in a fine of 365 to 547 calculation units or imprisonment of up to three years (one calculation unit currently equals around $7.5). If the offense is committed on a large scale, by a person using their official government position, or by a group acting in conspiracy, the punishment is a fine of 800 to 1,000 calculation units or imprisonment of three to six years, with an additional ban on holding certain government positions or engaging in certain activities for up to three years. Offenses committed on an especially large scale or by an organized group or criminal organization are punishable by six to 10 years of imprisonment and a ban on holding certain government positions or engaging in certain activities for up to 5 years.

See also  Sri Lanka Continues to Back India’s Adani Group

“Large scale” refers to property damage valued at more than 1,000 calculation units; “especially large scale” refers to property damage valued at more than 2,000 calculation units. However, if the offender, excluding especially large-scale offenses, fully compensates the material damage before the court issues a verdict, the court may impose a fine and forgo a prison sentence.

When introducing the draft bill to lawmakers, Minister of Justice Muzaffar Ashouriyon noted that consumers tampering with meter readings or bypassing the meters to avoid paying for electricity are “damaging the economic interests of the country.” 

The minister, however, didn’t speak to how such fraud is often an economic necessity in Tajikistan, where the average monthly income hovers around $200, especially in the light of the April 1 15 percent hike in electricity prices. Since 2010, the cost of electricity for household consumers has increased fourfold, in line with the World Bank recommendations to align the price of electricity with the cost of its production to make the country’s electricity sector self-sufficient and less reliant on foreign investment. But the price realignments are outpacing both the growth of salaries and pensions in Tajikistan and the efficiency of the electricity sector in meeting the consumption needs of the growing population. 

Over 30 years after becoming independent, Tajikistan still requires significant foreign investment in energy infrastructure and institutional reforms of the energy sector. Barqi Tojik, the state monopoly on electricity production and distribution, holds debt equal to a third of the country’s GDP. Energy production over-relies on glacier-fed hydropower, which is subject to large fluctuations and diminishing resources in the light of the climate change and melting glaciers. The government continues plunging vast resources into Rogun, a 3,600 MW power plant that has been in construction since 1976 and has blown a budget hole half the size of the country’s GDP.  

See also  Dow Jones Futures: Market Roars, But Don't Go Wild Yet; AMD Leads Stocks Near Buy Points

Residents of Tajikistan still face electricity rationing, scheduled but unannounced blackouts that usually last from early October well into spring, colloquially known as the “electricity limit.” The limit results in economic losses of up to 3 percent of the country’s GDP and of up to a third of the country’s agricultural output, hampering the ability of Tajikistan’s residents to pay the rising cost of electricity. 

Criminalizing electricity use fraud, the latest desperate move to shore up the inefficient energy sector, might do little to change behavior, given an economically-strained population in need of electricity for survival.

Criminalizes Crisis Electricity energy Fraud Tajikistan
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

Ending China’s De Minimis Exception Brings 3 Benefits for Americans

April 17, 2025

The Trump Tariff Shock Should Push Indonesia to Reform Its Economy

April 17, 2025

Tariff Talks an Opportunity to Reinvigorate the Japan-US Alliance

April 17, 2025

How China’s Companies Are Responding to the US Trade War

April 16, 2025
Add A Comment

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Top Posts

Tiger Woods Accused of Sexual Harassment by Erica Herman in Court Filing

May 9, 2023

Whoopi Goldberg Says She Wants to Take Over ‘Wheel of Fortune’ After Pat Sajak Retirement

June 17, 2023

Arsenal vs Barcelona Prediction and Betting Tips

July 27, 2023

Bud Light Hires Conservative-Friendly Comedian Shane Gillis In Face-Saving Move

January 30, 2024
Don't Miss

Why Music Is Essential To Holistic Care

Lifestyle June 16, 2025

They say music is the soundtrack to our lives – and for many, it’s a…

What Are The 5 Holistic Wellness Benefits Of Tantric Massage In London?

June 13, 2025

Big Tech Whistles Along While World Rides Trump-Musk Rollercoaster

June 12, 2025

May Inflation Data ‘Bodes Very Well’ For US Economy, Analysts Say

June 11, 2025
About
About

This is your World, Tech, Health, Entertainment and Sports website. We provide the latest breaking news straight from the News industry.

We're social. Connect with us:

Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest
Categories
  • Business (4,153)
  • Entertainment (4,220)
  • Finance (3,202)
  • Health (1,938)
  • Lifestyle (1,659)
  • Politics (3,084)
  • Sports (4,036)
  • Tech (2,006)
  • Uncategorized (4)
  • World (3,944)
Our Picks

‘Serious Concerns:’ Elon Musk’s Neuralink Faces Scrutiny About Animal Testing and Human Safety

September 23, 2023

May Inflation Data ‘Bodes Very Well’ For US Economy, Analysts Say

June 11, 2025

‘Futurama:’ John DiMaggio on His Salary Battle and Return as Bender

July 24, 2023
Popular Posts

Why Music Is Essential To Holistic Care

June 16, 2025

What Are The 5 Holistic Wellness Benefits Of Tantric Massage In London?

June 13, 2025

Big Tech Whistles Along While World Rides Trump-Musk Rollercoaster

June 12, 2025
© 2025 Patriotnownews.com - All rights reserved.
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.