Azerbaijan Laundromat: Merkel ally ‘received cash from regime’

Merkel ally ‘received cash from regime’

This article was published by the Guardian

Revelations over payments by Azerbaijan to European politicians have seeped into the German election as it emerged that a close ally of Angela Merkel allegedly received money from the authoritarian regime.

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Afgan Mukhtarli makes appeal to international organizations

Imprisoned investigative journalist Afgan Mukhtarli has been questioned with respect to criminal proceedings launched against Gozal Bayramli, deputy chair of the Popular Front of Azerbaijan Party (PFAP).

Mukhtarli wrote about this in a letter he sent to Bastainfo. He said that during the questioning he was asked about Dashgin Aghalarli, who currently resides in Georgia, and Farman Jeyranli, the founder of the clinic Lancet, who is in jail in Georgia.

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Senate Panel Adopts Measures Supporting Artsakh and Armenia, Sanctioning Ankara and Baku

ANCA: ‘Congress Is Clearly Turning the Corner on Both Turkey and Azerbaijan’

WASHINGTON—The full U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee adopted a series of provisions as part of its Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) foreign aid bill on Sept. 7, specifically calling for continued aid to Artsakh and increased assistance to Armenia ($20.7 million), and also imposing weapon and travel sanctions on Turkey and Azerbaijan. Those provisions were supported by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

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OCCRP blocked in Azerbaijan

On 5 September, the website of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) was blocked in Azerbaijan.

The block occurred hours after OCCRP published a major investigation into corruption, bribery, and money-laundering, in which President Aliyev, his family, and other powerful figures are alleged to have been involved. The investigation, known as the Azerbaijani Laundromat, is based on leaked banking records, and details the way in which $2.9 billion was laundered through a series of shell companies and then used to bribe European politicians, buy luxury goods, or move money abroad for other purposes.

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Azerbaijani Laundromat May Have Helped Secure Ax-Murderer Ramil Safarov’s Extradition

BUDAPEST, Hungary (A.W.)—Investigations led by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) have revealed that that several bank transfers—in excess of $7 million—were made to a Budapest bank account around the time the Hungarian government extradited Azerbaijani ax-murderer Ramil Safarov to Azerbaijan.

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New Documentary Links Armenian Genocide to Recent Azerbaijani Massacres of Armenians

A new documentary will be screened in many theaters across the United States and will be available on demand on Oct. 7. Unlike other documentaries on the topic, this one is different and more relevant to today’s non-Armenian viewer. The documentary, titled “Architects of Denial” and subtitled “Genocide Denied Is Genocide Continued,” links the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 to contemporary massacres of Armenians by Azerbaijanis in various cities of Azerbaijan, and threats to kill Armenians living in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabagh (Artsakh).

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