PFPA Leader Rejects Accusations (UPDATED)

The leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), Ali Kerimli, rejected the allegations in the message of the Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs about financing the party by laundering dirty money.

Kerimli said Saleh Rustamov is his friend and really sent him money. "Saleh has a small business. For several years he sent me money 5-7 times. Sometimes $ 500, sometimes $ 1,000. As the money was sent free of charge, I do not remember the exact amount. It can be no more than 5 thousand dollars. And the sum of 412 thousand dollars named in the message is an outright lie," Kerimli wrote on his Facebook page.

He also pointed to the absence of corpus delicti also for the arrested PFPA activists.

"They did not even commit an administrative offense. What kind of logic is that? A friend sent me money - another party companion received this money and gave it to me. Where is the crime? All these people live in poverty. What kind of illegal business did they do, what income did they have?" Kerimli said.

"Today, another like-minded person sent me 600 manat for the conclusion of contracts with lawyers to protect the rights of our three arrested activists. And is this a crime, too? Or maybe the fight against you (the authorities) is a crime?" Kerimli continued.

He admitted that he received gratuitous help from friends and like-minded people, and these funds were used to provide financial assistance to families of political prisoners, sick and needy members of the party.

Kerimli also ironically notes that the Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs can just as well blame the activists of PFPA for the withdrawal of $2.9 billion from the country in 2014-2016 with the goal of money laundering. These facts were disclosed in the Azerbaijan Laundromat investigation of the international journalistic research network OCCRP and the law enforcement agencies did not conduct any investigation on this issue. -0-

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2018 May 26 (Saturday) 19:38:23

Serious Charges Facing Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan

Baku / 26.05.18 / Turan: The Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan reported on the arrest of a group of people, including activists of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) on charges of legalizing money obtained by criminal means.

According to the joint statement of the Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, spread on May 26, Saleh Rustamov, who lives in Russia, monthly collected money from businesses of citizens of Azerbaijan engaged in the Russian Federation. Through the illegal transfer of currency by Jeyhun Huseynov, Rauf Iskenderov, Heydar Ahmadov and Tural Mehdikhanov in the city of Baku, S. Rustamov periodically sent money to his nephew Vidadi Rustamli.

The latter in turn transferred money to the functionaries of PFPA Aghil Maharramov, Ruslan Nasirov and Babek Hasanov. In this way, since 2016, 412,000 USD has been allocated to finance PFPA activities.

Law enforcers see in this the commission of actions to legalize money obtained in a criminal way in a large amount.

According to a press release, in the course of the interrogations Babek Hasanov, Ruslan Nasirov and Aghil Maharramov acknowledged the receipt of money sent by Saleh Rustamov from Moscow from Vidadi Rustamli. In their confessions, Hasanov, Nasirov and Maharramov said they gave the money received to the PFPA leader Ali Kerimli and other party figures.

Saleh Rustamov, Vidadi Rustamli, Aghil Maharramov, Ruslan Nasirov, Babek Hasanov and Eltaj Alisoy were brought to criminal liability under art. 192.3.2 (illegal business with large-scale revenue extraction), 193-1.3.1 (legalization of money obtained by criminal means in an organized group) and 193-1.3.2 (the same actions committed on a large scale) of the Criminal Code. A measure of restraint in the form of arrest was chosen against them. Eltaj Alisoy is wanted. Investigative actions continue.

The press release does not specify the citizenship of S. Rustamov. According to relatives, he is a Russian citizen.

It is interesting that S. Rustamov and V. Rustamli were arrested on 8 and 10 May respectively and were initially accused of illegal drug trafficking. -06D-