The Perfect Storm Of Corruption In Central Asia

Central Asian governments often declare a war on corruption but as Lewis said, there usually appears to be an ulterior motive. "Anticorruption campaigns… inevitably are very selective, what they really do is target people who have fallen out of favor, or particular people who have not been loyal enough, shall we say, to the leadership."

 

It is extremely difficult to obtain a clear picture of the extent of corruption. Malyarchuk said, "Many reports that you read about our countries are connected directly with political opponents and it's very subjective." It is a valid point particularly since some of the leading Central Asian government opponents are fallen former government officials bearing a grudge.

 

But Campbell stressed that while caution is needed in assessing claims of corruption from local sources, "You can have a political motivation and still have very true, very well-researched facts."

http://www.rferl.org/content/corruption-central-asia/27779246.html