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Azerbaijani State Tax Service official arrested on bribery charges - JOINT STATEMENT

03 November 2026 11:19 (UTC +04:00)

An official of the State Tax Service under Azerbaijan's Ministry of Economy has been arrested, APA reports, citing a joint statement by the Main Anti-Corruption Directorate under the Prosecutor General and the State Tax Service under the Ministry of Economy.

According to the statement, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan continues to take measures to prevent illegal actions by officials. Efforts are underway to combat violations of the law committed during tax inspections.

As part of these measures, a criminal case has been initiated under the relevant article of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan following an operational-search operation conducted by the Main Anti-Corruption Directorate under the Prosecutor General based on information received from the State Tax Service concerning the illegal actions of one of its officials.

Investigative and operational-search measures established reasonable grounds to suspect that Rufat Aliyev, a state tax inspector at the Department of Operational Tax Control Measures of the Operational Tax Control Directorate of the Territorial Main Tax Department No. 12 of the State Tax Service, received a bribe from an entrepreneur operating in the city of Ganja in September 2026 in exchange for imposing a lower financial penalty during a tax inspection.

Based on the evidence collected, Rufat Aliyev was charged under Article 311.2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan (accepting a bribe by an official in exchange for illegal actions or inaction). At the request of the investigative body and upon the submission of the prosecutor exercising procedural supervision over the preliminary investigation, the court ordered his pre-trial detention.

It was noted that the necessary investigative and operational measures are continuing as part of the criminal case to establish the full scope of the illegal activities and ensure that other individuals involved in committing such acts are brought to criminal responsibility.