Smuggling case worth 326 million manats: large-scale illegal business scheme uncovered

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.

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