Tajikistan Using DC Proxies to Build Support for Rogun Dam, 13 February 2014

Tajikistan has one significant industrial asset, an aluminum smelter that dates back to the Soviet era. The state-owned plant, Talco, uses so much electricity it is responsible for regular, rolling blackouts around the country...

According to Justice Department filings, Talco pays the lobbying firm, Fabiani & Company, a $1.2-million annual retainer to “develop a favorable US-Tajikistan relationship” and “educate” American officials about Tajik President Imomali Rakhmon’s dream project: Rogun, the would-be tallest hydropower dam in the world. The contract, which began in October 2012, has led to dozens of meetings involving Fabiani representatives and US officials. Fabiani also has pushed story ideas that have evolved into puff pieces in US media...

Fabiani’s contract is with Talco Management Ltd (TML), an entity registered in the offshore tax haven of the British Virgin Islands. Watchdog groups widely suspect TML is a vehicle for corruption. Acting as a middleman, TML buys Talco’s aluminum at a steep discount, sells it at market prices, and keeps the difference. Where the profits go is known only to a select few...

Tajikistan is the poorest country of the poorest region in the former Soviet Union. Over one-third of the country’s estimated 7.9 million inhabitants live below the poverty line, according to official statistics. Talco exacerbates the problem: According to a World Bank study, the smelter uses 40 percent of the country’s electricity at subsidized rates, which hurts the economy, Western diplomats say...

Rakhmon has staked his country’s future on Rogun, a project started in the 1970s and stalled since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Cost estimates vary from between $2 billion and $6 billion...

To raise money, The Tajik government coerced citizens in 2010 to donate several months’ salary to the project...

The campaign raised about $180 million, and there has been little accounting of the money...

In addition to lobbying US officials, Fabiani also has worked to promote a positive image of Tajikistan and Rogun among US media outlets...

It is uncertain whether Talco’s lobbying expenditures have brought a desired return for the company. The sad irony, diplomats in Dushanbe often point out, is that if it weren’t for Tajikistan’s breathtaking corruption, Dushanbe would probably have the resources to complete the dam.