Testimony revealed of Azerbaijani ministry’s ex-official arrested for embezzlement

Testimony revealed of Azerbaijani ministry’s ex-official arrested for embezzlement
# 17 November 2016 09:13 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Shahriyar Alizade – APA. The testimony given by the former head of the Office of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Communications and High Technologies, Vidadi Zeynalov, who was arrested on embezzlement charges, has been revealed.

In his testimony, Zeynalov pleaded guilty, claiming that he and his family members don’t have any private company, APA has learned.

“My close relative owns a company, called PLZ, which operates in the fields of construction and tourism. Two associations, five LLCs and three departments are operating under the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies. Under the instruction of minister Ali Abbasov, the head of Baku Telephone Network Production Association Beytullah Huseynov gave monthly 200,000 manats in 2009, 300,000 manats in 2012 as the association's revenues increased and even 500,000-600,000 manats in January-February. Beytulla Huseynov was received by Ali Abbasov at the end of each month and reported about the revenues of the association and funds he would give. Following this meeting, Beytulla Huseynov was meeting with me and saying that the association’s chief accountant Anar Mustafayev would keep in touch with me. Then Anar Mustafayev was giving the revenues of the association, aforementioned amount of funds and written notes to me. I was estimating revenue and expenditure and giving the total amount to Ali Abbasov. I was keeping the funds I received in the safe,” Zeynalov said in his testimony.

Furthermore, Zeynalov noted that Baku Telephone Network Production Association and Aztelekom LLC were giving monthly funds. Azerpocht LLC was giving monthly 50,000 manats, the Data Processing Center 50,000 manats, the International Relations and Accounting Center 220,000-240,000 manats. But those structural units did not pay the amounts on a regular basis. Sometimes they did not have enough incomes. So they did not pay anything. Furthermore, 25-30 percent of the amounts paid by those units were given back to themselves. Nothing was given to them of the amounts given to BTCPA and Aztelekom LLC as their activities were a lot wider. The amounts left after the certain ones had been paid became theirs. By this means, those units got 50,000 to 100,000 manats per month. The monthly amounts were paid by Aztelekom director Mammad Mammadov or his assistant Gulu or the LLC’s chief accountant Ogtay.

Zeynalov said he has informed the head of each unit and department beforehand about the payments and came to agreement with them about the amount to be paid. The collected funds were then allocated on the minister’s order. Of this amount, he sent a monthly amount of 50,000 dollars to Teymur Guliyev, ex-head of the Monitoring Center of the liquidated National Security Ministry, for a year and half via his driver and a monthly amount of 100,000 dollars to Subahir Gurbanov, ex-head of the Main Directorate for Combating transnational economic crime, via his driver since 2011. Moreover, he gave 200,000 to 300,000 manats of the monthly collected funds to the minister himself for his personal affairs. And an amount of 520,000 manats were distributed among the ministry’s other officials via department heads. Approximately 50,000 manas were spent on holidays and purchasing gifts for guests.

Moreover, he was given 30,000 manats initially and 50,000 manats in the past two years. The deputy ministers were given 15,000 to 20,000 manats initially and 30,000 manats in the past two years.

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