Officials in Kyrgyzstan will be required to declare personal interests and connections more strictly.

A draft law concerning amendments to the Law "On Conflict of Interest" has been presented to the Jogorku Kenesh.

The purpose of this document is to clarify and expand the main provisions that will help prevent and regulate conflicts of interest among officials at the state and municipal levels.

In particular, the new version of the law provides a more detailed description of what is meant by the term "affiliated person." This definition now includes both individuals and legal entities capable of exerting direct or indirect influence on decision-making, including transactions, equity participation in companies, financial dependence, control, as well as close family ties or dependency.

The draft law also establishes that the Cabinet of Ministers will determine the authorized state bodies responsible for implementing the conflict of interest law. One of these bodies will be responsible for coordinating and monitoring the implementation of this document.
Changes also pertain to the process of verifying declarations of personal interests.
According to the draft, the verification of such declarations will be conducted by the human resources services of the relevant state bodies, as well as local self-government bodies and institutions.

Furthermore, the draft law strengthens accountability for violations. The new version of Article 28 emphasizes that providing false information in declarations entails disciplinary responsibility, and inadequate response from the supervisor to an identified conflict of interest may lead to their dismissal.
Income and property benefits obtained in violation of the law are proposed to be considered as damage to the state, with an obligation for their reimbursement.