Minorities Suffer Because State Agencies Have Different Views on Selection Procedure in JSC

The Ministry of Taxes and the State Committee for Securities (SCS) patronize persons who under the cover of legal entity provided for in the Civil Code are engaged in embezzlement of various corporations. Today, the international press club Russia Today held a press conference on the issue with minority shareholders.

Facts that are registered in supervising government agencies (the Ministry of Taxes and SSC) to separate an individual from the parent company contradict local regulations, as well as the 6^th Directive of the Council of the European Union, said a shareholder of Sumgait Soyududzhu Base (refrigeration base in Sumgayit) Shahin Alizadeh. He demonstrated a response to a written request to the Ministry of Justice, which states that the procedure does not provide for the transfer of property during the isolation of an individual. The legislation only provides selection of one or more legal entities from the parent company.

Shareholders have repeatedly tried to get an appointment with the Minister of Taxes and the Chairman of SSC, but they shy away from the meeting. To written appeals to the departments we only get distractive answers, the shareholder Tahir Akhundov said.

As a result, today under the guise of reorganization (selection) the majority shareholder, having 82% shares of Sumgait Soyududzhu Base, took 99% of the assets and 98% of the territory. “We will continue to stand up for our rights as long as they are not restored,” the shareholder Aydin Allahverdiyev said.

The Republic of Azerbaijan has made a commitment to bring its legislation into line with the European legislation, and, according to the organizers of the press conference, the authorities, which have the patronage of local law violators, have prepared a draft bill according to the sixth Council Directive.

According to the shareholders, such facts of gross violation of the legislation, which is also accompanied by a violation of the rights of property holders of small shareholdings, occurred in the past. Another attempt to separate from a legal entity is scheduled in the JSC Sabunchu Istehsalat Hidmeti Bazasi (Sabunchu industrial base) for 6 May. The agenda of the general meeting of shareholders of this JSC includes selection of the 81% stake. ----08C