[contrarian]

Interesting bit of news covered by the Wall Street Journal ;-]

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan -- A chairman of Tajikistan's Central Bank diverted more than $850 million to a company run by himself and his family, according to an independent audit posted on the bank's Web site Monday.

The Ernst & Young audit said that under Murodali Alimardonov's stewardship, from 1996 to 2008, the Central Bank paid about $856 million to his Credit-Invest company, a general purpose investment concern. According to the audit, a further $221.5 million allocated for investment in the cotton industry in 2004-2007 remains unaccounted for.

Gross financial irregularities are common in the former Soviet nation, which borders China and Afghanistan in central Asia. The International Monetary Fund last year demanded repayment of $47 million in loans amid charges that Tajik authorities doctored data on national reserves.

However, the sums of money allegedly appropriated by Mr. Alimardonov, who has served as deputy prime minister in charge of agriculture since leaving the Central Bank job last year, are enormous for the impoverished nation, whose economy has been wracked by severe power shortages and lack of investment.

According to Ernst & Young's report, government loans were issued to Credit-Invest for the development of the cotton sector, but were later used for unrelated business initiatives. In one instance, $800,000 was spent on building a restaurant in the northern Tajik city of Istaravshan , the report said.

Tajik authorities agreed to the audit of the Central Bank and other major state enterprises in the wake of the IMF scandal. However, Ernst & Young said many of the documents needed for its investigation were destroyed prior to the audit.

Government officials refused on Monday to comment about the findings of the audit