After a million-manat bankruptcy, businessmen face yet another financial loss

On how dangerous it is to start a business in Azerbaijan

A year after two entrepreneurs, co-owners of the trading company FB Company, Anar Garibov and Aga Aliyev, lost their case in the Baku Court of Appeal against the Azur shopping center, which ruined their business and caused damage exceeding one million manats, they are once again set to appear in court and face new losses. According to the lawsuit, the owner of a warehouse, Raziya Babaeva, filed a claim with the Binagadi Court of Baku demanding a ruling for the removal of trading equipment, clothing, accessories, and other items belonging to FB Company from her premises, with the removal costs to be paid by the company. Despite five years of storing the company’s equipment and clothing in her warehouse and a series of court hearings, R. Babaeva never asserted her rights. Garibov and Aliyev first learned about this businesswoman only recently.

The legal battle between FB Company and the Azur shopping center was extensively covered in articles by Turan news agency.

To briefly summarize, Azur violated the contract with FB Company by demanding the removal of new branded clothing, accessories, and trading equipment, worth over a million manats, from the mall. Garibov and Aliyev refused, as the lease agreement for the retail space had not yet expired. On December 26, 2020, the management of Azur, Fuad Rzayev and Babek Babaev, ordered the property to be moved to non-residential premises in another area of Baku, far from the shopping center. Over time, with the owners unaware of the situation, the goods and equipment became damp, rusted, moldy, and infested with worms. The merchandise had to be treated with toxic insecticides, dangerous to human health, to prevent infection. Selling the clothing or using the equipment in trade became impossible.

The Commercial Court of Baku rejected Azur's claim to collect rent for the storage of FB Company's property, as the items had been removed and relocated by the mall's management without informing Garibov and Aliyev.

Now, the two businessmen, whose business has been destroyed and who have not received compensation despite several court proceedings, face a new court ruling requiring them to pay the costs of removing and disposing of hazardous clothing, accessories, and other items. A court-ordered examination in 2023 confirmed that being near these items posed health risks.

As A. Garibov told Turan, the contents of the warehouse were treated with DDT and its metabolites. DDT is a chemical designed to kill insects but is also dangerous to humans. In small and medium doses, it causes poisoning, while in large doses it can cause cancer or even death.

Specialists, equipment, and funds are needed to remove and somehow dispose of the spoiled and contaminated goods. Garibov and Aliyev are financially ruined, bankrupted by the mall owners, Rzayev and Babaev. There is a risk that the poisonous items could be thrown into the environment, as their intended use is no longer possible and the entrepreneurs do not have the funds for specialized disposal.

Garibov believes that with this new, unexpected lawsuit, Azur owners Rzayev and Babaev are trying to “finish off” their opponent, using the "administrative resources" they successfully employed in previous court cases, including the help of one of the owners’ father, who is a high-ranking government official.

Raziya Babaeva's lawyer refused to answer Turan's questions.

Previous articles about this trial:

• Entrepreneur Appeals to President for Justice Amid Legal Battle
• The trial on the suit of a businessman claiming more than a million bankruptcy through the fault of the “Azure” shopping center
• Baku Court of Appeal forbade the press to observe process of  "FB-Company" lawsuit against "Azur Shopping Center"Social 
• The trial on the suit of a businessman claiming more than a million bankruptcy through the fault of the “Azure” shopping center
• Who is behind the contradictory statements of the Court of Appeal?
• The court, the police, the prosecutor's office – whose themis will prevail
• “Clothes treated with a dangerous chemical could get into the city's retail network”
• BCA justified the actions of Azur, which destroyed the business of FB-Company