Former accountant of EU Delegation to Azerbaijan sentenced

The Baku Court of Grave Crimes has completed the criminal case of former accountant of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Zarifa Abbasova, accused of embezzlement of about 1 million manats and official forgery, 1news.az reports. According to the court verdict, Z. Abbasova was sentenced to 10 years and 6 months of imprisonment in absentia. The court also confiscated the defendant’s house, which was under arrest, and the proceeds from the sale will be used to compensate for the damage.

It is noted that Z. Abbasova was under house arrest both during the preliminary investigation and during the trial. She did not appear in court when summoned and evaded participation in court proceedings.
Thus, from 2017 to 2022, while working as an accountant at the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan, Z. Abbasova cashed out funds from the bank account of the mission, and also transferred money to her salary card through fictitious payment orders, embezzling 983,254 manats belonging to the said organization.

According to the investigation materials, Abbasova repeatedly withdrew the said funds from the ATMs of the International Bank. She was charged under Articles 179.4 (embezzlement on an especially large scale), 308.2 (abuse of office, resulting in grave consequences) and 313 (official forgery) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.

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