Corruption in Turkmenistan is a widespread issue, with Turkmenistan being perceived as having the 16th most corrupt public sector by the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index.
In Transparency International's 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, which scored 182 countries on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"), Turkmenistan scored 17. When ranked by score, Turkmenistan ranked 167th among the 182 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. For comparison with regional scores, the best score among Eastern European and Central Asian countries was 50, the average score was 34 and the worst score was Turkmenistan's 17. For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 89 (ranked 1), the average score was 42, and the worst score was 9 (ranked 181, in a two-way tie).
According to an August 2015 statement by the U.S. Embassy in Turkmenistan, corruption is "widespread in both public and private sectors" in the country. "There are no standards-setting consortia or organizations besides Turkmen State Standards and the licensing agency. There is no independent body for filing complaints. Financial disclosure requirements are neither transparent nor consistent with international norms. Government enterprises are not required to publicize financial statements, even to foreign partners. Financial audits are often conducted by local auditors, not internationally recognized firms."
Turkmenistan's government, the U.S. Embassy states, "strictly controls foreign exchange flows, and the conversion of excess amounts of the local currency, the manat, remains problematic. ... While Turkmenistan has undertaken some initiatives to improve Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection, including the creation of the State Agency for Intellectual Property and the signing of some WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) conventions, it has not adopted comprehensive administrative and civil procedures to improve the enforcement of IPR." Moreover, "the country's regulatory system is not implemented transparently, and the government has influence over courts' decision-making processes." Owing to these and other problems, Turkmenistan has attracted little investment from American firms.
Background It originated as part of the Corruption in the Soviet Union.
All of the countries that were once part of the USSR face special challenges when it comes to corruption. According to the American Security Project, corruption is the foremost factor inhibiting these nations from developing along "liberal-democratic lines". Corruption prevents many citizens of these countries from pursuing any economic development and growth in their nations, all while inhibiting foreign investment.
Turkmenistan is part of the Central Asian region, an area of former Soviet republics in which levels of corruption are unusually high even for post-Soviet states. According to the Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative, Turkmenistan "lies in a virtual hotbed of corrupt states". Central Asia has the highest perceived corruption of any of the post-Soviet regions. From best to worst, those regions are: the Baltics, the Caucasus, Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia. The level of perceived corruption seems to rise as one travels from West to East, "with the major deviation being that the Caucasus are perceived as less corrupt than Eastern Europe".
According to an analysis of the 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index, Estonia is viewed as the least corrupt post-Soviet state and Turkmenistan the most corrupt. Two Central Asian countries, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, were dubbed "Worst of the Worst" by Freedom House in 2015. Only seven other countries around the world fell into that category.
"Corruption in Post-Soviet Central Asia is something very familiar to people living in the region", states one source. "Without bribing, one is destined to see their case be delayed for a long time, very often beyond time limits defined by laws." Another source affirms that in Central Asia, "you can buy everything, not only standard products in plenty of recently opened supermarkets, but also unique civil documents, university diplomas, certifications, tanks, combat aircraft and other useful things." The source describes corruption as "pervasive", stating that government employees "are dependent on additional 'little money' because of their low monthly incomes", while "university rectors oversee the sale of diplomas and entrance exams tests as it is the only source to finance school."
At the lower levels of Central Asian society, "corruption is a way of life, and the higher up you go, the bigger the theft gets. It sadly appears that the corruption tries to monopolize the mechanism of market competition and the forms of it become more sophisticated... Half-baked, poorly designed, inadequately implemented market reforms boost corruption." One source sums the situation up as follows: "Be it application for a new passport, or registration at a new place of living, or even finding a daycare for your kid — bribing is the easiest way to get it all done faster and without a hassle".
"The high level of corruption in Central Asian States," explains one source, "can be attributed to the low wages of civil servants, the many opportunities for corruption during the last decade, historical roots and the lack of political will in implementing anticorruption measures." Two "bright spots" are that Central Asia's "perceived corruption is decreasing over time and its levels of illicit financial flows (IFFs) have been fairly low." Yet as the region continues to experience economic growth, without standards of accountability, elites will have access to illicit enrichment from enlarging natural resource industries.
According to a January 2014 report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA), "local corruption and a lack of cooperation from governments" are "the main driving factors behind the EU's development aid failures in Central Asia." The court criticized how "the European Commission's External Action Service (EEAS) managed development assistance in Central Asian countries between 2007 and 2012." The ECA report stated that the EEAS "provided assistance to a larger number of sectors than is consistent with best practice."
In a September 2015 article, Matthew Crosston suggested that corruption "is arguably more important in regions of the world currently undergoing in one form or another democratic transition and entrance into the global market economy", such as the Caspian littoral nations.
Turkmenistan has routinely had the worst corruption statistics in the region. The country is "highly corrupt and vulnerable to tomfoolery. ... Misuse of the state's revenues have driven many investors away and led to high levels of corruption." While the region "averages only 13% in terms of controlling corruption governmentally", Turkmenistan's score is only 2%; while the region's average score for "Rule of Law" score is 25%, Turkmenistan scores only 4%; while the region scores a 13% average for "Voice and Accountability", Turkmenistan scores what one website characterizes as a "laughable" 1%.
One source compares Turkmenistan to its neighbor Kazakhstan. Corruption is rampant in both countries, but while Kazakhstan has "a free private sector and the emerging middle class which creates jobs", Turkmenistan has a stagnant economy in which the "only tangible source of jobs is a gas agreement with China". Also, while the Kazakh and Uzbek media report on the corruption of those countries' rulers, in Turkmenistan the President's family and their business activities, corrupt or otherwise, are kept "out of the focus of public attention". Another source states that when it comes to corruption, "both Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are getting worse year after year."
Turkmenistan was named by World Bank Vice President Johannes Linn in 2000 as "the only former Soviet republic where loans have been halted because of corruption allegations". Five Western firms were "banned from work on any World Bank projects" in Turkmenistan owing to "alleged fraud and corruption – including bribe payments to Turkmen authorities in an attempt to win contracts for Bank-funded projects".
Government President's power Turkmenistan is widely viewed as one of the most repressive regimes on earth. Both its first president, Saparmurat Niyazov, who died in 2006, and his successor, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have exercised absolute power. The parliament is a rubber stamp, the regime is packed with Berdimuhamedow relatives, most regime opponents are based abroad, and most of those who are not abroad are in prison. It is Berdimuhamedow himself who selects foreign companies for major contracts. "Most of the foreign investment," said one source, "is governed by project-specific presidential decrees, which can grant privileges not provided by legislation."
Berdimuhamedow "has unquestioned authority over all decisions, and thus has the ability to funnel out money to finance luxurious urban developments and grand personal lifestyles". Berdimuhamedow's nephews, notably his sister Anabat's son, are also reportedly major players in the business sector. Indeed, an October 2011 Reuters report, citing leaked diplomatic cables, described Berdimuhamedow as "a vain liar accused of corruption on a vast scale" and as "a control freak who personally signs off minutiae such as work rotas for leading doctors in the capital".
Berdimuhamedow and his associates are believed to have diverted government funds into private bank accounts, and the late President Niyazov is thought to have done the same thing. Relatives of the president reportedly maintain prominent positions in key industries. It is said that the nation's elites have cultivated power by enacting a patronage system to ensure loyal persons rise up in the ranks. The entire economy is controlled by a "limited number of patronage networks commanded by Berdimuhamedow", each with its own sphere of influence. This arrangement has spawned a "culture of bribery, nepotism, and embezzlement", with bribe-taking "particularly prevalent among customs, licensing, and social service agencies".
As of 2013, Tom Mayne of Global Witness believed that Turkmenistan, under Berdimuhamedow, was "even more corrupt than under Niyazov's leadership". While Niyazov generally avoided regional nepotism and favoritism, Berdimuhamedow is said to frequently have done the opposite. The best way for foreign firms to enter the Turkmen market, according to Freedom House, is to forge "a personal relationship with the president or, alternatively, working through established foreign businessmen or high-ranking foreign officials". During Berdimuhamedow's first three years in power, "the price of introductions to him" rose "by 10 to 15 percent, well above inflation rates".
The Turkmen system gives the President total control over the revenues from the sale of hydrocarbons, which is the nation's main income source. The government uses these funds "to finance pervasive security services and vanity construction projects as well as to secure the support of patronage networks". Freedom House describes Berdimuhamedow as presiding over a system that allows him to legally appropriate oil profits and allocate them for personal use or physical assets for the state.
A 2009 report quoted a US diplomat as stating that power energy companies are known to present "small gifts" to officials in order to arrange appointments with Berdimuhamedow and other top-level figures. The same diplomat maintained that Itera, a Russian gas holding company, gave the President a $60 million yacht named Galkenysh in order to "speed up the conclusion" of a contract involving gas works on the Caspian Sea. During Berdimuhamedow's first three years in power, "the price of introductions to him has risen by 10 to 15 percent, well above inflation rates."