Corruption fighters slapped with corruption charges in Central Asia

Staff at the agency on combatting corruption and financial control were detained in Tajikistan

Central Asia, one of the world's most corrupt regions, is experiencing a surge in anti-corruption cases, with anti-corruption officials bearing the brunt of the investigations.

In an unprecedented operation at the end of last month, around 20 mid-ranking and upper-level staff at the powerful Agency on Combatting Corruption and Financial Control were detained in Tajikistan. In Turkmenistan, a few weeks later, the state prosecutor and dozens of surbordinates were arrested, apparently for falling into the kind of crimes that they should be investigating.

In Tajikistan, a search of the assets of one of the detainees, a mid-level investigator, saw