Former Uzbek energy minister Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov was reportedly last week detained two days after he was dismissed from his post on suspicion of abuse of office and embezzlement, according to an Ozodlik report citing law enforcement sources. 

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev dismissed Mirzamakhmudov on July 27 over what he described as serious shortcomings in the country's energy sector.

According to Ozodlik's sources, a court ordered his pretrial detention.

Uzbek authorities have not publicly confirmed the detention or announced any criminal proceedings against the former minister. There has been scant coverage of the alleged detention in local media.

IntelliNews emailed the energy ministry requesting comment on the reported detention and related allegations but had not received a response by the time of publication of this article.

Ozodlik also reported that people familiar with the case said Mirzamakhmudov's brother, Nodir Mirzamakhmudov, who previously worked in the Presidential Security Service, was dismissed from his post about a month earlier and later detained. Another brother, Otabek Mirzamakhmudov, who worked at the Supreme Judicial Council, was reportedly dismissed in April.

Mirzamakhmudov was removed from office during a government meeting on July 27 after Mirziyoyev criticised the management of Uzbekistan's energy system, citing repeated electricity outages during the summer and persistent infrastructure failures despite billions of dollars in investment.

"Every summer and winter, dozens of substations experience accidents and hundreds of transformers burn out," the president said during the meeting.

Uzbekistan has invested heavily in expanding and modernising its energy sector, attracting $23bn in foreign investment over the past decade, adding 9.5 GW of generating capacity and allocating $2.5bn to upgrade power and gas infrastructure. However, Mirziyoyev stressed that the sector’s main problem was no longer a lack of funding but weaknesses in management.

Mirzamakhmudov served as energy minister for almost four years after being appointed in September 2022. Before leading the ministry, he headed the Uzatom nuclear agency and the state chemical company Uzkimyosanoat and previously served as first deputy energy minister.

Following his dismissal, Sherzod Khodjaev, the former head of the Energy Market Development and Regulation Agency, was appointed as Uzbekistan's new energy minister.