BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 23. Million-dollar smuggling chain has been exposed, and officials held accountable in Azerbaijan, the Prosecutor's General Office said in a statement, Trend reports.
According to the statement, the Prosecutor General's Office, together with relevant state agencies, is taking complex, systematic, and consistent measures to prevent damage to the country's economy by individuals, the smuggling of various types of products into the country, the organization of their illegal sale, and other similar acts.
The Main Department for Combating Corruption under the Prosecutor General is continuing its preliminary investigation into the criminal cases initiated at the State Customs Committee regarding the illegal actions of officials, military personnel, and other members of a criminal organization who participated in the commission of smuggling and abuse of power crimes.
Thus, as a result of investigative measures on the criminal case on the illegal actions of the Baku Hovsan International Trade Sea Port Customs Post of the Main Customs Department of the State Customs Committee for Maritime Transport and Energy Resources, employees of the "Baku Hovsan International Trade Sea Port" Open Joint Stock Company and other members of the criminal association, the de facto head of "Baku Hovsan International Trade Sea Port" OJSC Ruslan Eyyubov, the general director of the OJSC Rashad Dashdamirov, the head of the port service Zaur Hashimov, the port foreman Farrukh Hagverdiyev, the head of the Baku Hovsan Trade Sea Port Customs Post of the Main Customs Department of the State Customs Committee for Maritime Transport and Energy Resources Farid Usubov, inspectors of the mentioned Customs Post Heydar Eyvazli, Tamerlan Akhundzadeh and Tahir Tahiri, the senior operational representative of the Operational Department of the Operational Investigation Department of the mentioned Main Customs Department Anvar Taghiyev, as well as the transport of tobacco products. It has been established that Elchin Rustamov, Fariz Maharramov, Firuz Aliyev, Amil Jabrayilov, Alasgar Ismayilov, Rovshan Tarverdiyev, as well as others whose identities are being investigated by the investigation, who carried out the transportation and storage of tobacco products, worth a total of more than 5.4 million manat ($3.2 million), from the United Arab Emirates and Iran, which should be marked with excise stamps, were smuggled into the country by ship from the port without such stamps, by entering into a criminal association as an organized group.
Based on the collected initial evidence, these individuals were charged under Articles 206.4 (large-scale smuggling as part of an organized group), 213-1.2.1, 213-1.2.2, 213-1.2.3 (repeatedly storing large quantities of goods that should be marked with excise stamps by a group of persons in advance for sale without such stamps) and 308.2 (abuse of official authority leading to grave consequences) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.
In the case, based on the motion of the preliminary investigation body and the presentation of the prosecutor conducting the procedural management of the preliminary investigation, arrest was decided by the court, a non-arrest preventive measure was chosen for Firuz Aliyev, and an international search was announced for other individuals, who left the country to evade the investigation, with arrest in absentia preventive measure chosen for them.
Moreover, in another criminal case, the preliminary investigation of which is ongoing in the Main Department for Combating Corruption under the Prosecutor General, the illegal actions of "RR Caspi", "Semaye Co", "Semaye Logistic" and other Limited Liability Companies, as well as officials of the State Border Service, who participated in the commission of smuggling and other crimes, were exposed.
The preliminary investigation revealed that the founder and de facto head of "RR Caspi" LLC Ramin Akhundov, the ship captain of that LLC Elshan Ahmadov, ship mechanic Elchin Asgarov, ship sailor Amid Sayilov, Samir Gahramanbayli, who carried out the work of the LLC, Vusal Sadigov, the head of the 14th coastal control unit of the 3rd Coastal Control Department of the State Border Service, Valeh Samadov, the controller of that unit, as well as Elgun Nazarov, Emin Nazarov, Heydar Mohammad Reza Ali oglu, Amal Azizov, Abulfat Ismayilzade, Shahin Heydarov, Vugar Ismayilov, who carried out the transportation and storage of tobacco products by vehicles, as well as others whose identities are being investigated by the investigation, entered into a criminal relationship as a group of individuals who had previously conspired to transport tobacco products worth more than one million manat ($590,000), which should have been marked with excise stamps, to Baku by ship without such stamps. Grounds for smuggling were established in the Alat settlement of Garadagh district, through an illegally constructed, unregistered mooring bridge on the shore of the Caspian Sea.
The above-mentioned persons were charged with the following offences of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan:
- 206.3.2 (smuggling by a group of persons in advance and by an official using his official position),
- 213-1.2.1, 213-1.2.3 (storage of goods that should be marked with excise stamps by a group of persons in advance for sale without such stamps),
- 341.2.1 and 341.2.3 (abuse of official authority by a group of persons and with grave consequences)
Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel