Trial proceeds for Azerbaijani ministry’s ex-official

Trial proceeds for Azerbaijani ministry’s ex-official
# 01 March 2017 11:31 (UTC +04:00)

The Baku Court of Grave Crimes on Wednesday continued the trial in the criminal case involving Vidadi Zeynalov, head of the Office of the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies of Azerbaijan, and other people arrested alongside him.

During the trial, Vidadi Zeynalov’s lawyer Elkhan Suleymanli raised a petition that he wants to focus on charge grounds.

“The incitement contains enough contradictions in respect of each of the defendant, particularly in relation to Vidadi Zeynalov,” said the lawyer.

Commenting on the petition, defendant Mahammad Mammadov protested Vidadi Zeynalov. “What do you want from me, have you got any problem with me?”

Vidadi Zeynalov replied that he has nothing to do with him.

The judge noted that these issues will be investigated on a separate day.

Mahammad Mammadov’s lawyer Shahin Rafiyev said his defendant didn’t give money to anyone.

He accused Vidadi Zeynalov’s lawyers of raising a petition against his defendant.

Vidadi Zeynalov added that his lawyers don’t aim to spoke against Mahammad Mammadov, but prove that investigation is carried out improperly. “Everyone knows that Mahammad Mammadov neither gave nor received money. He just paid the damage to the state out of fear,” he added.

The trial will be resumed on March 3.

A series of investigative operations had discovered that in 2009-2015, the director general of Baku Telephone Network Production Association Beytulla Huseynov, entered into a criminal conspiracy with the director of “Bakı Rabite Temir Tikinti” and “Temir Techizat Servis” companies Bayram Valiyev, the director of "3 nomreli Rabite Temir Tikinti” and “Rabite Mulki Tikinti” companies Emin Mammadov and the chief accountant of the Baku Telephone Network Production Association Anar Mustafayev, gave them a project for the implementation of works on the new telephone lines and installation of new equipment. According to the agreement concluded between them, 35-45% are listed on the accounts of these companies means then had to be returned in cash to Beytullah Huseynov. After that Beytullah Huseynov, abusing official powers and organizing sham tenders issued forged documents, which indicated that the work for the fiber-optic lines for the Internet were carried out by companies controlled by him, though in reality, these works were carried out by local telephone networks. Because of these machinations Beytulla Huseynov misappropriated 21,379,000 of 71,263 million manats, transfers to accounts controlled by him LLC. However, investigators have reason to suspect that the head of the ministry’s Office, Vidadi Zeynalov, processing government orders to close the company itself and increasing their value by 4-5 times, misappropriated 73.59 million manats.

The investigation revealed cases of appropriation of budgetary funds and forgery in “Aztelekom” LLC, “AzÄ°nTelekom” LLC, Center for information and calculations, “Optik Rabite Tikinti ve Qurashdırma”.

The director general of Baku Telephone Network Production Association Beytulla Huseynov, the director of “Bakı Rabite Temir Tikinti” and “Temir Techizat Servis” companies Bayram Valiyev, the director of "3 nomreli Rabite Temir Tikinti” and “Rabite Mulki Tikinti” companies Emin Mammadov and the chief accountant of the Baku Telephone Network Production Association Anar Mustafayev are charged under articles 179.3.2 (embezzlement on a large scale), 308.2 (abuse of power) and 313 (forgery) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.

The head of the ministry’s Office Vidadi Zeynalov, the director general of AzInTelekom LLC Jalil Jafarov, the director general of Azerpocht LLC Gambar Beybalayev face charges under articles 179.3.2 and 308.2. A preventive measure in the form of arrest has been chosen against all of those persons.

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THE OPERATION IS BEING PERFORMED