Is the Supervisory Board of the International Bank of Azerbaijan to be blamed for "problem loans" of the IBA?

The former head of the "International Bank of Azerbaijan" Jahangir Hajiyev denies the charges against him,  said  his lawyer Agil Laidzhev. According to him,  on 5 December  the Narimanov District Court of Baku  arrested him  for a period of  four months. He was charged under Articles 179 (embezzlement) and 308 (abuse of power) of the Criminal Code. The lawyer said that Hajiyev does not accept the charges. "After all, there are always risks on loans. So he pleads not guilty in connection with non-return loans, " said Laidzhev. According to him, the most urgent and crucial question is who is responsible for loans? For example, there are cases where the responsibility for issuing banks loans  is on the heads of departments, government. For issuing large loans  is responsible Supervisory Board.  The issue of large loans is controlled by Supervisory Board;  whether there was  such a control is  a topic for another conversation.

The Supervisory Board was informed of the issuance of loans, and if there were illegal actions it had to intervene. The prosecution alleges that Hajiyev exceeded his authority and loans were not used for their intended purpose. "But we believe that the loans were used for targeted projects. Responsibility for monitoring the lending carries Supervisory Board. Jahangir Hajiyev has no relation to the Supervisory Board; he is  not represented in it," said Laidzhev. Contrary to media reports, the amount of bad loans  of IBA, according to the lawyer, "is not 10  or five  billion dollars, it is only $400 million."  Of this amount  $200 million were returned when Hajiyev was released.  After the arrest of Hajiyev, this process stopped. "This means that the findings of the investigation and trial are not correct.  The release of the person freedom has a positive  affect on the course  of investigation and returning  loans," said Laidzhev.

He also pointed to the violation of the rights of  Hajiyev as the accused. Hajiyev, contrary to the requirements of the legislation, is still detained  in the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (MDCOC) of the  Ministry of Interior, and  has not been transferred to the detention facility of the Justice Ministry, though it  should  be  done within 24 hours after the court decision. It is also illegal that he is not allowed to  get  products from the house and personal belongings. In addition,  his sleep  is limited, and he  it cannot adapt to the food  given  in the police detention center. The defense appealed against the illegality of the detention  Hajiyev and the court will consider the issue on December 17. -06D--