IOLR

A criminal case against members of an organized crime group that stole particularly large amounts of money belonging to the state has been sent to court. As reported by Oxu.Az, this was reported by the press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office.

According to the investigation, several individuals who acted as part of an organized group illegally carried out numerous transactions to transfer VAT (value added tax). The Main Anti-Corruption Department under the Prosecutor General’s Office opened a criminal case, the preliminary investigation of which has been completed.

The investigation established that in 2023-2024, members of the criminal group – Rasim Aliyev, Rashad Bagirov, Aleksey Yunin, Rashad Tagiev, Mushvig Latifov and Javid Ismayilzade – illegally took possession of information about various business entities and cash registers. Using this data, they opened ƏDV geri al (“VAT Refund”) portals in the names of different people, where they secretly transferred a total of more than 1 million 120 thousand manats, embezzling these funds.

Based on the collected evidence, the accused were finally charged under Articles 177.3.1, 177.3.2 and 177.4 (large-scale and especially large-scale theft committed by an organized group), 193-1.3.1, 193-1.3.2 (large-scale legalization of property obtained by criminal means committed by an organized group), 202.2 (illegal dissemination of information constituting a commercial secret, causing major damage) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

A hearing on a high-profile smuggling case, which was investigated by the State Security Service of Azerbaijan, was held in the Sumgait Court of Grave Crimes under the chairmanship of Judge Fahmin Humbatov, Oxu.Az reports with reference to APA.

The defense attorney for the accused Elvin Shirinov filed a motion to hold the court hearings behind closed doors. Other lawyers also supported this motion, citing the presence of commercial secrets in the indictment. However, the court found the motion unfounded and rejected it.

According to the indictment announced by the state prosecutor, Zohrab Gidayatov was engaged in illegal entrepreneurial activity without state registration in Khudat, Barda, Yevlakh from January 1, 2022 to December 24, 2023, and in Khudat, Khachmaz, Barda and other districts on December 25, 2023, receiving especially large income.

According to the investigation, Gidayatov organized the export of agricultural products on behalf of Elvin Shirinov and Gachgyn Gumbatov, receiving an unofficial fee of 100 manat for each vehicle – a truck or a wagon. In total, he received illegal income in the amount of 1,559,400 manat.

Gidayatov, Shirinov and Humbatov, acting as part of an organized group, entered false information into documents about the ownership of the exported goods to Shirinov and Humbatov, used forged documents and falsely declared goods worth 326,069,684 manats, moving them across the customs border of Azerbaijan to foreign countries.

The accused are charged under Articles 192.3.2 (illegal entrepreneurship committed with the receipt of especially large income) and 206.3.2 (smuggling committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy) of the Criminal Code.

A 70-year-old man has been sentenced in Baku for misappropriating 15,000 manat from a woman while posing as a professor at the Azerbaijan Technical University, oxu.az reports. The court heard a criminal case under Article 178.2.4 (fraud causing significant damage) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan against a native of the Kurdamir region, Hajiali Amirov (surname conditional – ed.). During the trial, it became known that in 2010 he had already been convicted under a similar article and sentenced to 10 years in prison, and his conviction has not yet been expunged.

He defrauded citizen Arifa Huseynova, promising to help her relative find a job at the Ministry of Emergency Situations. For this, the accused took 15,000 manat from her.

It is noted that the man introduced himself as a professor at the Azerbaijan Technical University. The victim stated that she was filing a complaint against the accused and demanding the return of the money given.

The court found G. Amirov guilty of committing a crime under Article 178.2.4 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan and sentenced him to 2 years and 6 months of imprisonment.

During operational activities carried out by the Sabunchi District Police Department in December, 24 people suspected of drug trafficking were detained. As reported by Oxu.Az, this was stated in a statement by the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

According to the information, a total of 13 kg of various narcotics and psychotropic substances were found and seized from the detainees.

The suspects planned to organize the sale of drugs in the capital, placing them in different places in order to obtain material benefits.

The materials collected on these facts have been transferred to the investigation, an investigation is underway.