Politics 10:58 04/04/2016 World

Panama Papers: Ilham Aliyev from Azerbaijan in the spotlight of a global corruption scandal

A huge leak of confidential documents under the name of "The Panama Papers" has revealed the use of offshore companies by politicians and their relatives, unveiling their involvement in many different tax havens.

The yearlong investigation and the interactive produced by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) explores the stories behind thousands of emails, documents and images revealing names of public interest.

It has found links to dozens of current or former heads of state, other politicians and public officials with direct connections to structures in tax havens and mechanisms of money laundry, tax evasion and avoiding sanctions.

According to ICIJ website, their names appeared inside a cache of 11.5 million leaked files from Panama's Mossack Fonseca, one of the biggest offshore service providers.

The names displayed in an interactive represent a selection of the most relevant cases, the organization says. 

As in other previous massive leaks, Azerbaijani President Ilyam Aliyev has found its place in the list with separate interactive for each member of his family. 

The ICIJ gives a brief introductory about Alyev, saying: “The family of Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev leads a charmed, glamorous life, thanks in part to financial interests in almost every sector of the economy. His wife, Mehriban, comes from the privileged and powerful Pashayev family that owns banks, insurance and construction companies, a television station and a line of cosmetics. She has led the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Azerbaijan’s pre-eminent charity behind the construction of schools, hospitals and the country’s major sports complex. Their eldest daughter, Leyla, editor of Baku magazine, and her sister, Arzu, have financial stakes in a firm that won rights to mine for gold in the western village of Chovdar and Azerfon, the country’s largest mobile phone business. Arzu is also a significant shareholder in SW Holding, which controls nearly every operation related to Azerbaijan Airlines ("Azal"), from meals to airport taxis. Both sisters and brother Heydar own property in Dubai valued at roughly $75 million in 2010; Heydar is the legal owner of nine luxury mansions in Dubai purchased for some $44 million. The president’s sister, Sevil Aliyeva, a longtime London resident, founded Space TV, a news and entertainment channel in Azerbaijan.

Investigative journalists then present Mossack Fonseca data regarding Mr. Aliyev and his family members, saying that the leaked documents show that in 2005, President Aliyev's wife, Mehriban Aliyeva, was named as one of two managers of the Panamanian UF Universe Foundation, incorporated in 2003. Under a complex proposal submitted to Mossack Fonseca in 2005, UF Universe Foundation would have ultimate control of AtaHolding, a major Azeri conglomerate. The 2005 proposal named President Aliyev's three children in addition to other senior members of Azerbaijan's tax office as beneficiaries. Two secretive companies central to this proposal were established through Mossack Fonseca although it is unclear whether or not the proposal was ever adopted. The UF Universe Foundation was inactivated in January 2007, but in January 2014, its representative asked Mossack Fonseca to reactivate it. Furthermore, the data show that Aliyev's daughters controlled a Panama-incorporated company and two others in the British Virgin Islands. The Panamanian company held a significant stake in a consortium of companies exploring goldfields in Azerbaijan.

Aliyev's sister turned to be the sole shareholder and owner of a BVI company registered in December 2005. Registration records list her at an address in a West London neighborhood where average home prices touch $9 million, say the leaked documents.

Investigative journalists inform that the Aliyev family did not respond to repeated requests for providing comments

Samples of scanned email correspondence about the establishment of the above mentioned companies and other relevant documentation are attached to the page as well as an interactive map, which depicts the company-owner, service-client relations for each family member of Mr. Aliyev.



Source Panorama.am
Share |

Related news

Տեքստում սխալ կամ վրիպակ նկատելու դեպքում, ուղարկեք խմբագրին հաղորդագրություն` նշելով տվյալ սխալը, այնուհետև սեղմելով Ctrl-Enter:

Newsfeed

17:00
Armenian-Iranian film wins top award at Beirut International Women Film Festival
“The Song of Flying Leaves”, an Armenian-Iranian animated film directed by Armine Anda, has won the Best Short Animation award at...
16:45
Turkey backs outgoing Dutch PM Rutte’s candidacy for NATO chief
Turkey has told its NATO allies that Ankara will back the Netherlands’ outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s candidacy for the...
16:35
Kazakhstan not to mediate Armenia-Azerbaijan talks in Almaty
The upcoming negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Almaty, Kazakhstan, will be held solely between the parties and...
16:05
Expert: Armenia engaged in a 'diplomatic battle'
Armenia is currently engaged in a diplomatic war, claims Ruben Melkonyan, Dean of the Faculty of Eastern Studies at Yerevan State University....
15:35
Diplomat: Artsakh issue remains unresolved
The Artsakh issue remains unresolved and has not been forgotten despite all claims of the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaderships, former Armenian...
14:54
Tatoyan: Azerbaijan seeks to undermine Armenia's security
Former Armenian Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan states that Azerbaijan seeks to undermine Armenia’s security though the...
14:25
French police summon Gerard Depardieu over suspected sexual assault
French police on Monday summoned cinema legend Gerard Depardieu for questioning over suspected incidents of sexual assualt with a view towards...
14:14
War with Azerbaijan not over, says former Armenian FM
After the 2020 war, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Armenia and later other actors interested in developments in the South Caucasus started talks about a...
13:34
Chechen leader Kadyrov's 16-year-old son named trustee at special forces university
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Sunday that he named his teenage son, who was shown beating a prisoner in custody last year, a trustee of...
13:15
Opposition MP slams Pashinyan's government for border process
Despite the broad public discontent with and distrust of the border delimitation and demarcation process with Azerbaijan involving unilateral...
12:34
Armenian, Azeri FMs to meet in Almaty
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov will hold talks in Almaty in the near future,...
12:06
Armenia's Baregham Harutyunyan wins silver at European Boxing Championships
Armenia’s Baregham Harutyunyan took a silver medal at the EUBC Elite Men and Women European Boxing Championships in Belgrade,...
11:36
Protesters block Armavir-Gyumri highway in Armenia
A group of people blocked the Armavir-Gyumri highway in Armenia on Monday morning as part of the ongoing acts of civil disobedience against the...
11:15
Russia has nothing to fear from EU in South Caucasus, Armenian diplomat says
A seismic shift in Armenia’s foreign policy that has seen it forge closer relations with the European Union is not a threat to Moscow, the...
11:00
Blinken urges Aliyev to release those unjustly detained in Azerbaijan
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Sunday. Blinken commended Aliyev for...
17:05
Yerevan.Today: Contract soldiers serving on border quit Armenian military
A group of contract servicemen serving on the border with Azerbaijan in Armenia’s Tavush Province are quitting the Armenian army amid...
16:36
Archbishop blames Pashinyan for clashes at protest in border village
Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, Primate of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, blamed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his...
15:57
Temperatures to rise further in Armenia
Rainless weather is expected in Armenia's provinces over the weekend and on Monday. Showers and thunderstorms coupled with strong winds...
15:46
Reps. Titus and Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals
Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced bipartisan legislation that seeks to enforce sanctions against...
15:16
Opposition MP defends servicemen's meeting with protesters in Tavush
MP Tigran Abrahamyan, who represents the opposition Pativ Unem faction, has defended contract servicemen’s move to meet with protesters in...
14:35
Kremlin: Moscow supports continued talks between Yerevan, Baku
Russia supports continued negotiations between Yerevan and Baku for the settlement of all outstanding issues, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry...
14:04
Japan blocks Mount Fuji view to curb tourist misbehavior
A Japanese town is blocking off its panoramic views of Mount Fuji to tackle unruly behaviour by tourists who have been flocking to take pictures...
13:36
Expert urges efforts to prevent Azeri control of gas pipeline in Armenia's Tavush
Varuzhan Geghamyan, a Yerevan-based geopolitical strategist and regional security expert, says Armenian officials’ statements on the...
13:05
Danish delegation joins EU mission for patrol in Goris
The Danish Deployment Facility for Peace and Democracy (DFPD) delegation has joined the EU monitoring mission in Armenia for a patrol in...
12:33
Authorities probing involvement of servicemen in Tavush protests
The Armenian Investigative Committee is probing reports of the involvement of contract soldiers in ongoing protests in Tavush Province against...
11:34
Senator Peter Welch commemorates Armenian Genocide
Senator Peter Welch has commemorated the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. “From 1915-1918, hundreds of thousands were...
11:15
King Charles to resume public duties next week
King Charles III is back. The 75-year-old monarch will resume some public duties next week following a three-month break to focus on his...
11:00
Contract soldiers join protests in Armenia's Tavush
Around 20 contract soldiers joined ongoing protests against unilateral territorial concessions to Azerbaijan in Armenia’s Tavush...
17:25
Pashinyan urged to stop 'unconstitutional' border delimitation
Fair Armenia party chairman Norayr Norikyan and its members gathered outside the Armenian government building on Friday to warn against the land...
17:06
Police clash with protesters on major Armenian highway
Riot police on Friday clashed with protesters blocking the Yerevan-Sevan highway in Armenia in protest against territorial concessions to...

Follow us and get updates!

Most popular articles

{"core.blocks.header.spell_message1":"Selected mistake: ","core.blocks.header.spell_message2":"Send a message about the mistake?"}