VOA慢速英语2014 Is the Party Over for Uzbekistan's 'Party Girl?'

 

Is the Party Over for Uzbekistan's 'Party Girl?'

Gulnara Karimova is the most famous party girl in Central Asia. She has organized fashion shows, designed jewelry¹, and bought some of the most famous nightclubs in the capital city of Uzbekistan, Tashkent.

She was even, until this July, Uzbekistan’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

Not long ago, people saw her as the heir apparent to the man who has ruled Uzbekistan for many years – her father, Uzbek President Islam Karimov.

Now, she is a suspect in a major corruption² investigation³. National prosecutors⁴ in the Uzbek capital announced the investigation last week. She is being investigated because of her alleged⁵ involvement with an organized crime group.

Many members of an organized crime group, including Karimova’s boyfriend, were charged with financial crimes last May.

Ms. Karimova’s future as the next leader of Uzbekistan now seems unlikely. Her businesses have collapsed⁶. European investigators⁷ have blocked her use of hundreds of millions of dollars kept in overseas banks.

Is the ‘party over’ for Ms. Karimova?

Her fall from power began last year. Swedish media reported in October that she was involved in bribing⁸ the telecommunications company TeliaSonera.

The company reportedly made payments for rights to operate in the Uzbek cell phone market. Ms. Karimova has denied these allegations. Similar investigations⁹ were reportedly taking place in Switzerland and France.

In February of this year, police officers searched Ms. Karimova’s house in Tashkent. They also arrested her boyfriend and others allegedly connected to an organized crime group.

In March of this year, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reportedly received a letter from Gulnara Karimova. In it, she is said to have written about her house arrest and being subjected to, in her words, “severe psychological pressure.”

Also in March, Swiss prosecutors announced they were investigating Ms. Karimova for possible money laundering¹⁰ and illegal acts taking place in the Uzbek telecommunications market. They said that Swiss officials had seized about $915 million.

Central Asian experts say it is possible that the Uzbek officials are moving forward with this investigation to get control of the seized money from European banks. Not, they say, for political reasons.

Safar Begjan is an Uzbek dissident. He told VOA that he believes the Uzbek prosecutors are, “playing political games with her. Otherwise, they could fine her and put her in jail. Instead now she is just on house arrest, simply because her father is president.”

Islam Karimov has ruled Uzbekistan since 1991. At 76 years old, he is the oldest ruler in the former Soviet¹¹ Central Asia. Uzbek exiles and human rights groups say he has done little to stop corruption in the country.

1 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

2 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

5 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

6 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

7 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 bribing   

贿赂

参考例句：

• He tried to escape by bribing the guard. 他企图贿赂警卫而逃走。
• Always a new way of bribing unknown and maybe nonexistent forces. 总是用诸如此类的新方法来讨好那不知名的、甚或根本不存在的魔力。 来自英汉非文学 - 科幻

9 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

10 laundering   

n.洗涤（衣等），洗烫（衣等）；洗（钱）v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的现在分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入）

参考例句：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。