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The trip of the 10 members of the U.S. House of Representatives to Azerbaijan in May 2013 is a violation of ethics rules of the House, according to which it is prohibited to accept invitations from lobbyist organizations. The trip was indirectly funded by an organization which is doing business in Azerbaijan, reports the American edition of Houston Chronicle.

The publication reports that the conference taking place in Baku at the end of May dedicated to a strategic partnership between the US and Azerbaijan was attended by US Senators and Congressmen.

According to the article the travel expenses of the 10 congressmen and 35 staffers to Baku totalled $270,000. The trip expenses were supposedly covered by five non-commercial organizations which received corporate support for sponsoring the trip of the congressmen.

The source also mentions the name of the Turquoise Council as one of the organizers of the event. The organization is based in Houston. Under federal law, the Turquoise Council was required to disclose any corporate support or foreign government assistance for the Baku congressional trips. The Chronicle's analysis indicates it did not.

“Lawmakers who went to Baku and nonprofits alike should have disclosed any corporate conference sponsorships. By failing to do so the congressmen may have violated ethics rules,” said Ken Boehm, an expert in congressional ethics.

“Azerbaijan spends a lot in the efforts to win the support of the American lawmakers for official Baku, striving to trade its huge oil wealth in exchange for political support,” says the publication.

Azerbaijan directs the efforts of lobbyists, the government and energy companies to this end, states the publication.