Bank Standard Depositors Stage Rally in Supreme Court Hall

Baku / 18.04.19 / Turan: The Supreme Court is continuing consideration of the claim of citizens affected by Bank Standard bankruptcy in 2017. The bank did not return the deposits made by citizens, and the Deposit Insurance Fund did not compensate for lost funds that were not insured.

The Baku residents Nayil Babayev, Gunay Ahmedova, Farhad Mahammadli, Faris Khalilov, Irada Allahverdiyeva and five other plaintiffs ask the Supreme Court to cancel the decision of the Court of Appeal of November 6, 2018, which refused to compensate for the loss caused by the Central Bank of Azerbaijan as a state structure controlling and responsible for the banking sector of the country.

On April 17, a meeting of the Supreme Court took place, which did not make a final decision, explaining that one of the plaintiffs did not draw up an agreement with a lawyer, preferring to defend his interests himself. The court will determine a lawyer for him at public expense. The next meeting, Judge Sevda Huseynova said, is scheduled for May 22.

The decision to postpone the meeting provoked the indignation of investors who demanded a meeting with the chairman of the Supreme Court. They came to the Supreme Court hall with placards calling on the President to facilitate the return of the lost deposits.

The people believe that as the President compensated for the loss of merchants in the burnt shopping complex Diglas, then all the more he should help investors, who have been demanding the return of their money for almost three years.

The court was forced to call 10 policemen in order to stop the noisy action in the Supreme Court hall, the depositor Arzu Askerova told Turan.

"If the Supreme Court does not take our side, we will certainly file a lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights," she said.

The lawyer of the other plaintiffs - the chairman of the creditors' committee of this bank, Akram Hasanov, considers it necessary to continue the struggle for a refund and create a party of deceived bank depositors in the country.

Bank Standard went bankrupt due to improper credit policy, issuing millions of loans without any collateral, while ordinary citizens were even given a 100 manat loan with a mandatory demand of collateral, depositor Rafili Seidjan told Turan during a picket outside the Presidential Administration building. -0-