Military Financial Officer Sentenced to 10.5 Years in Prison
Rashad Melikzade, the former head of the financial department at the Training and Education Center of the Ministry of Defense and a lieutenant colonel, has been sentenced to 10 years and 6 months in prison. The verdict was issued on Monday by the Baku Serious Crimes Court. The court also ordered the seizure of property belonging to Melikzade and his family, valued at 2 million manats, to compensate for the damage caused to the state.
Melikzade was arrested on September 26, 2022, by officers of the State Security Service, and the Baku Military Court chose to remand him in custody.
The officer faced charges under Articles 179.4 (embezzlement in particularly large amounts) and 313 (forgery by a public official) of the Criminal Code.
Melikzade was accused of embezzling 9 million 369 thousand manats. He later returned 848 thousand manats to the state. The Ministry of Finance is the aggrieved party in the case.
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