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Court proceedings to begin as ANAS officials face charges of large-scale embezzlement

07 January 2026 17:15 (UTC +04:00)

The preliminary investigation into the criminal case initiated at the Main Anti-Corruption Directorate under the Prosecutor General regarding the illegal actions of officials of the Lankaran Regional Scientific Center of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences has been concluded, APA reports, citing the Press Service of the Prosecutor General’s Office.

The preliminary investigation revealed reasonable suspicions that the director of the Center, Mehman Aliyev, entered into a criminal relationship with the chief accountant Hasil Askerov and the deputy director for general affairs, Namik Gasimov, abused his official authority, knowingly entered false information into official documents with the assistance of citizen Mehman Garibov, and, from November 2023 to June 2025, cashed out state budget funds under the guise of paying wages to persons who did not actually perform their labor functions, renting non-residential premises, performing work, and providing services, thereby embezzling and wasting a large amount of money entrusted to them.

Based on the evidence collected, Mehman Aliyev and Hasil Askerov were charged, respectively, under Articles 179.3.2 (embezzlement or squandering on a large scale) and 308.1 (abuse of official powers) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan; Namik Gasimov was charged under Articles 179.2.1, 179.2.3, and 179.2.4 of the same Code; and Mehman Garibov was charged under Articles 32.5, 179.2.1, 32.5, 179.2.3, 32.5, 179.2.4, and other articles of the same Code. As a preventive measure, they were placed under police supervision, and, upon the investigator’s motion and the submission of the prosecutor exercising procedural supervision over the preliminary investigation, the court additionally imposed a preventive measure in the form of suspension from office on Mehman Aliyev and Namik Gasimov.

The criminal case has been sent to the Lankaran Court on Grave Crimes for consideration on the merits.