Minority Shareholders Accuse Russian Businessman of Violating Their Rights

Today, a group of minority shareholders of JSC AzNar held a press conference at which they accused the holder of 99.95% of shares of Russian businessman of Azerbaijani origin Farhad Akhmedov of serial violations of shareholder rights. On the last decision of F. Akhmedov all 30 minority shareholders of CJSC AzNar were removed from the company, however, this requires registration in government offices.

Shareholder Shahin Alizadeh said that minority shareholder woes began after 2005, when Farhad Akhmedov obtained control over the Goychay cannery, the director of which in Soviet times was his father. The Russian billionaire first renamed JSC Goycay Konserv into JSC AzNar. Once the number of shareholders decreased to 50, the JSC was closed.

At the initiative of Farhad Akhmedov authorized capital stock was increased twice, and this led to the fact that the share holders of minority interests in the Company fell to 0.05%. Shareholders have repeatedly called on this matter to the State Committee for Securities, where they were comforted. But later it turned out that "the sides found common ground," and the rights of shareholders are not restored. Now Akhmedov is going to get rid of the minority shareholders.

Shareholder Vazir Radjabov said that they would be most probably "exiled" to the Ismayilli plant, where Farhad Akhmedov intends to set up AzNarSerab JSC, in which he will have a controlling stake (51%) of the shares. The shareholder believes that the division of property of CJSC AzNar is contrary to the law, and the shareholders are going to challenge their rights by all legal means.

At the press conference it was revealed that CJSC AzNar has serious financial irregularities that lead to multi-million dollar losses. The shareholders Shamsaddin Allahverdiyev and Bashir Bayramov said that selling prices of natural pomegranate juice bottled under the brands AzNar and Grante are 3-3.60 manats ($ 3.8 - $ 4.6), while the commodity is sold in Russia at a price of $ 11 per bottle (750 ml). The juices are sold in Russia by Ltd. Grante, which belongs again to Farhad Aliyev. That is the Goychay cannery is doomed to chronic losses, resulting in the minority shareholders not to receive dividends. - 08C-