Lawyer states about violation of rights of former head of International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA)

The lawyer of convicted former head of the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) Jahangir Hajiyev has stated about violation of his rights.

Fakhraddin Mehdiyev told Turan that by court decision the process of confiscation of the flat, which is in joint ownership with his sister, has been started.

According to the lawyer, the flat was purchased in the 1990s, before Hajiyev became head of the IBA.
At the same time, there is a list of property of physical entities, in respect of which no claims can be made to enforce court decisions. According to this document, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on 5 June 2002, a flat, house or parts thereof are not subject to confiscation if it is the only place of residence of the debtor and his family.

The lawyer noted that complaints to the judicial authorities about the illegality of confiscation of the flat were not satisfied and now the process of seizure of housing has been launched.

When asked whether the former banker had no other housing, the lawyer pointed out that other property had been confiscated from Hajiyev, but the flat was the only one.

Another violation of Hajiyev's rights the lawyer called deprivation of his ability to give a notarised power of attorney to his sister and lawyer to represent his interests.

"Three months have passed since the verdict of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), but Jahangir Hajiyev is still unable to receive compensation because he is deprived of the opportunity to give power of attorney to his sister. He can't give me a power of attorney to represent him in civil courts either," the lawyer said.

On the eve, the sister of former banker Amina Hajiyeva appealed to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev with a request to show "mercy" in view of his deteriorating health condition.

* Jahangir Hajiyev was arrested on 5 December 2015 and the Baku Court for Serious Crimes sentenced him to 15 years of imprisonment. He and other defendants in the case were found guilty of abuse, fraud causing major damage, misappropriation and embezzlement, abuse of power, and bribery.

In December 2018, the Prosecutor General's Office brought new charges against Hajiyev for embezzlement of a large sum of money, legalisation of funds obtained by criminal means, tax evasion, etc.

According to unofficial data, the embezzlement amounted to several billion manats.

In September 2019, the court added another one and a half years to Hajiyev's prison term.

However, in February 2020. the Baku Court of Appeal reduced the term by 3 months due to the mitigation in the legislation of the punishment under Articles: 179.3 (large-scale embezzlement) and 308.2 (abuse of power) of the Criminal Code.

In February 2022, the ECHR satisfied Hajiyev's complaint concerning the pre-trial arrest and ordered to pay him compensation in the amount of 3,500 euros.