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Ex-U.S. Embassy worker in Azerbaijan faces trial over AZN 500,000 fraud case

03 September 2025 10:30 (UTC +04:00)

A preliminary court hearing has been held in the criminal case of Rafig Goyushov, a former responsible employee of the administrative department of the U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan, APA reports.

Today at the Baku Court on Grave Crimes, a session was held under the chairmanship of Judge Anar Sadigov, during which the defendant’s personal details were clarified.

Although the state prosecutor and the complainant proposed that the case be brought to trial, the defendant’s lawyer, Ilham Asadov, requested that the case not be reviewed in court and instead be returned to the investigative body for further examination.

The lawyer argued that the investigator had not conducted the case properly and should be punished in accordance with the law by a special ruling. He also stressed that the embassy itself had not filed a complaint against Rafig Goyushov: “The U.S. Embassy has not lodged a complaint against Rafig Goyushov, but if he is found guilty, they want him to be punished within the framework of the law.”

The court ruled to move forward with the case. The trial is scheduled for September 17.

Note that the defendant, Rafig Goyushov, is accused of embezzling funds allocated for the temporary accommodation of incoming ambassadors and other staff. He is alleged to have illegally appropriated more than half a million manats.

He has been charged under Article 178.4 of the Criminal Code (large-scale fraud). A restraining measure in the form of police supervision has been applied to him.