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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.
Read more “Azerbaijan Laundromat: Merkel ally ‘received cash from regime’”
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.
Read more “Afgan Mukhtarli makes appeal to international organizations”
A group of EU parliamentarians is calling for an investigation into reports that Azerbaijan bribed EU officials in return for nice reports about the country’s elections and human rights record.
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.
STEPANAKERT, Artsakh (A.W.)—Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabagh) Ombudsman (human rights defender) Ruben Melikyan said Azerbaijan has failed in its plan of limiting international coverage and activity in Artsakh since the arrest of Russian-Israeli blogger Alexander Lapshin.
Two French journalists accused by Azerbaijan’s government of defamation for calling the country a “dictatorship” appeared for a hearing at a French court Tuesday, in an unusual case that activists call an effort to export censorship, AP reported.
Read more “French journalists in court accused of defaming Azerbaijan”
TO CELEBRATE “National Press Day” in Azerbaijan on July 22, President Ilham Aliyev announced the award of 255 apartments to journalists. Four years ago, he inaugurated an apartment building for journalists and gave away 155 flats. Both times, Mr. Aliyev used the same words. “Freedom of speech” is “ensured” in Azerbaijan, he declared.
Read more “In Azerbaijan, some journalists get free apartments. Others get jail cells.”
Azerbaijan’s ruling elite operated a secret $2.9bn (£2.2bn) scheme to pay prominent Europeans, buy luxury goods and launder money through a network of opaque British companies, an investigation by the Guardian reveals.
Read more “UK at centre of secret $3bn Azerbaijani money laundering and lobbying scheme”
The State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan (SCC) failed to register $24.8 billion worth of imported goods from 2010-2015, resulting in a loss for the state budget of about $5 billion in taxes. The SCC blames importers, but experts say that the Prosecutor’s Office should launch an investigation.
According to the SCC, in the first ten days of April 2017 importers underreported the value of goods entering Azerbaijan by 2.4 million AZN (about $1.4 million). Noting that some individuals and legal entities had submitted false invoices to avoid tax payments, the Committee announced that it had collected an additional 895 thousand AZN in taxes and transferred the amount to the state budget.
Read more “Azerbaijan Customs Committee fails to report billions in imports”
Last week the Ministry of Taxes opened a criminal case against Turan Information Agency, an independent media outlet in Baku, alleging large-scale tax evasion. Turan’s director, Mehman Aliyev, categorically rejects the allegations and claims that the Ministry’s handling of the case violates Azerbaijan’s tax code regulations. Reporters Without Borders has condemned the Ministry’s actions as ‘persecution.’
Read more “Turan accuses Ministry of Taxes of violating tax code”