BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. The video footage of former UN International Court of Justice prosecutor Luis Ocampo and his son Tomas, which was released in Azerbaijani media yesterday, once again revealed the behind-the-scenes of a large-scale and systematic information campaign against Azerbaijan. This is no longer about individual statements or mere political gestures, but about a systematic infrastructure of influence and pressure. This infrastructure includes Western platforms, diaspora networks, and, as is now known, financial resources from Russia.
The key figure in this process is the former prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno Ocampo. In the released video materials, he actually confirms his participation in the campaign against Baku. Moreover, he openly declares that he has connections and a team in European institutions, reminiscent of the former head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, and his circle.
However, the most notable aspect is not so much the European focus as the financial basis of these actions.
New footage obtained by Azerbaijani media shows that the campaign is financed by a "group of Russian-Armenian representatives" and a special fund has been created for this purpose. The goal is to ensure long-term and continuous information pressure.
Ocampo openly confesses that at the initial stage he received funding from Armenian sources, and then more structured channels joined the work. We are talking about wealthy representatives of the Armenian diaspora, who are engaged in international business, some of whom live in Russia. The main principle here is anonymity. According to him, the participants in this scheme prefer to operate through closed mechanisms "because they do not want to have problems with Russia."
Here are the videos transcripts:
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "Domenech"
Interlocutor: "Domenech?"
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "Yes. I […] can't remember any surnames, sorry"
Interlocutor: "But is this someone you hired?"
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "Devesa"
Interlocutor: "Devesa"
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "Devesa"
Interlocutor: "Devesa. But you..."
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "I got some money from the Armenians"
Interlocutor: "Aha"
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "So, at the beginning, Armenians, I..."
Interlocutor: "In the U.S.?"
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "No, from an Armenian from Russia... They don't want any problems with Russia. Anonymity is key for them"
Interlocutor: "Okay. But are we talking about Russians living outside of Russia? Or Russians in Russia?"
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "They travel abroad; they have interests everywhere, not necessarily in Russia. Some, not all. But I would say that it happens secretly"
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "At first I did it pro bono. The first report was pro bono. Then I got support from an American foundation to support a case at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Then I did the social media campaign, almost pro bono. And now a group of Russian Armenians is creating a foundation to finance their more sustained campaign"
Interlocutor: "So how long will your project last?"
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "I have no idea. Because now we have… a group of people who are financing this on the Armenian issue. And we have a commitment until May, […] but what I do is…”
Interlocutor: "And the minority in Armenia?"
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "No, the financing group…”
Interlocutor: "[…] Well, some rich Armenians… What do they do?"
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "Because they are Armenians. Because they are Armenians"
Interlocutor: "Are they part of the government or are they NGOs? Are they people like me, or what?"
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "No, no, no. You know what? They live in Russia"
In this context, the circle of possible beneficiaries is also becoming clearer. Businessman Samvel Karapetyan may act as one of the sources of financing. He has previously been on the agenda in the context of supporting illegal activities in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. According to information, he participated in financing settlement and infrastructure projects in Karabakh during the previous occupation.
In addition, Ruben Vardanyan undoubtedly participated in this process. Although currently detained in Baku, his foundation continues to operate, and this activity is now managed by his family and directed towards a campaign against Baku.
New materials show that this practice has not disappeared but has simply been transformed.
If earlier it was about creating "facts on the ground", now the emphasis is on information and political pressure. Thus, a whole ecosystem has been formed in which finance, media, political relations, and international institutions work as a single mechanism.
One of the points that particularly attracts attention here is Ocampo's admission regarding the deadlines. He openly states that his team's finances are secured "at least until May." This indicates that the campaign is planned.
May is the final stage of the election campaign in Armenia, which is preparing for parliamentary election.
Against this background, what is happening now looks not only like a foreign information attack, but also a direct interference in the internal affairs and electoral process of this country. Moreover, it must be taken into account that in the footage released yesterday, Ocampo's son Tomas actually confessed that one of the goals of this campaign is to overthrow the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan.
All this once again shows that we are talking about a deeply rooted system aimed not only against Azerbaijan, but also against regional stability in general. The joint activities of Western institutions, financial flows from Russia, and diaspora structures reveal the multi-level nature of this campaign.
The leaked materials reveal a mechanism that has been hidden for many years. It is now clear that this is not about the "values" of individual politicians, but about concretely financed and pragmatic actions. Corruption money, of course, plays a decisive role.
This story also clearly shows the degradation of personality: a person who was once a well-known prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has actually become a lobbyist puppet serving hybrid attacks involving European structures and Armenian oligarchs in Russia — Karapetyan and Vardanyan.